_FIVE ASIDES
Champions League
Como 4, United 1_
**Nine days ago United were fourth in the Champions League with three points and a goal difference of +4.** Now, two games later, they are 18th with three points and a goal difference of -1. They were always likely to lose in Madrid and more so once they had a long injury list. Because Como are Italy’s Brighton – small, well-run, data-savvy and holiday-friendly – I expected them to lose there too. But not like this. United didn’t have to win, they just needed to compete, and they failed to do that. They let the club down, they let the manager down, they let the fans down, they let themselves down. As Michael Carrick said, they didn’t run enough. The biggest culprit there was Matheus Cunha, who played as if he had already written Carrick off.
**In the first half, United were hammered 1-0.** In the second, without Cunha, they attacked more and played a bit better, but still made mistakes and suffered more for them. In both halves, they conceded in the first few minutes. Harry Maguire mostly played well, winning nine of his ten duels, but the first thing he had done was to give too much space to the electric Nico Paz. It felt as if the two sides were playing on different pitches: Como on a modern billiard table, United on a mid-Seventies mud pie. Their legs were heavy, their touch was poor, they lost cohesion and they lost heart. Carrick had shown faith in them, going out of his way to say the spirit was good. This was no way to repay him.
**Carrick did make some mistakes of his own.** After starting Bruno Fernandes on the right against Atletico and the left against Leeds, he moved him into the middle as one of two false 9s, alongside Youri Tielemans. Carrick had fallen into the Amorim trap of not playing your best player in his best position (as a 10). Fernandes is far from his best form – his only assist for United this season came against Ipswich, with the game already won – but that’s no reason to shunt him around. It would have been wiser either to rest him or to put him back where he belongs, behind a striker who can run onto his through balls. And that had to be Bryan Mbeumo, weary though he looks, because Benjamin Sesko is injured and the boss’s bosses failed to buy a back-up.
**Carrick had dilemmas elsewhere too.** Should he keep Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba together at the base of midfield, after they tightened United up at Elland Road, or rest Baleba? He opted for the rest, then brought Baleba on at half-time – but in place of Santos, who had picked up an early booking. With Mason Mount in the pivot all game, United were back to being easy to play through. At the back, with Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire as the only senior defenders who were both fit and available, Carrick had to start one of Matthijs de Ligt, Daniel Armer and Harry Amass. Rust or inexperience, that was the question.
**Rust or bust, that was Carrick’s answer.** Poor old de Ligt did OK for someone who hadn’t had a minute on the field in 11 months. But he was part of a back line that was creaky, disjointed and easier to press because they’re all right-footed. This last problem could have been solved by Armer (who showed promise in pre-season at centre-back) or Amass (who should be the first-choice left-back when Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu are both injured, or there’s no point having him in the squad). Yes, Armer and Amass are young, but so was Axel Tuanzebe when he started at PSG, six years ago this week, and kept Kylian Mbappe quiet in a 2-1 win. Carrick was right to make changes at half-time, but wrong to revert to a back three. It had half-worked at Leeds, but there it was matching the shape of the opposition. Here it wasn’t, and it was too defensive for a team who were already chasing the game.
**Bruno Fernandes wasn’t wrong about the press, but he was wrong to say it.** He was being just like Lisandro Martinez with his jabs at Jason Wilcox – except that Fernandes is the captain, and he has to be loyal to the manager in public. As captain, he has one enduring fault: a tendency to moan, whether at team-mates or officials. And now he’s extended that to Carrick and ‘the staff’. His frustration is understandable, but as one of those in charge you have to show some contrition and dignity too. Carrick did that, by holding his hands up to those travelling supporters who had stuck it out till the end (and been rewarded with one of Joshua Zirkzee’s near-annual displays of excellence).
**Fernandes owes the fans one now.** So do the whole team bar Amad, who brought some zip and got an assist. Their return to Old Trafford on Sunday is a must-win game if ever there was one. Shame it’s against Bournemouth, who seldom lose to United – and rather resemble Como.
_Tim de Lisle is the editor of United Writing, a sportswriter for The Guardian and [a pop critic on Substack](https://timdelisleonmusic.substack.com/). He’s been supporting United since they beat Porto 5-2 in the Cup Winners’ Cup and still lost on aggregate._