Manchester United were thrashed 4-1 by Como in the Champions League on Wednesday, piling pressure on manager Michael Carrick, while a late Declan Rice equaliser earned Arsenal a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich, Dawn reported, citing AFP.
Update: Fernandes questions the approach
United captain Bruno Fernandes criticised the team’s approach after the defeat, Dawn reported. “Conceding early makes us go into the game with a mood of defeat,” he told TNT Sports, adding that United had put “not much pressure on the ball”. Asked whether that was a criticism of manager Michael Carrick’s tactics, he said: “That’s on the manager and staff to see, not me. Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure.” Midfielder Youri Tielemans said United “got outplayed for most of the game”.
Humbled by the lake
In driving rain on the shores of Lake Como, United suffered their joint-heaviest Champions League defeat of the last 30 years.
Nico Paz scored twice for Cesc Fabregas’s side, with Tasos Douvikas and Jacobo Ramon adding the others. It was a second 4-1 home win of the campaign for the tournament newcomers. Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back for United at the very end.
United are now seven games without a win in all competitions. They have only one Premier League win this season and have lost back-to-back European games.
“I have not given my own position any thought,” Carrick said. “For us to play in that way, it’s not acceptable. It wasn’t a good performance at all.”
Rice rescues Arsenal
Last season’s beaten finalists Arsenal have seven points from nine after Rice struck in the 82nd minute in Munich.
Bukayo Saka went off injured early, but his replacement Eberechi Eze gave Arsenal the lead. Alphonso Davies levelled before half-time after a superb pass from Harry Kane, who then put Bayern ahead from a second-half penalty, his 10th goal of the season in all competitions.
Rice’s equaliser meant a second straight Champions League draw for Bayern.
“We looked dangerous, we got the goal, and we had a moment there where we could have killed off the game,” Kane told DAZN. “Probably a draw was a fair result overall.”
Madrid and Mbappe roll on
Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1 at the Bernabeu to become one of five teams with three wins from three. Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler scored either side of half-time, Kylian Mbappe made it 12 goals in 12 games this season, and Yan Diomande finished with a spectacular volley against his former club after Tidiam Gomis had pulled one back.
“We know every point is important to get into the top eight,” Mbappe told Movistar. “We’ve won three, and there are five to go.”
Wednesday’s other results
| Match | Score | Scorers |
|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa v Viking Stavanger | 3-1 | Barkley, Buendia (pen), Heggheim (og); Christiansen |
| Inter Milan v Shakhtar Donetsk | 1-0 | Carlos Augusto |
| Real Betis v Feyenoord | 1-0 | Isco (pen) |
| Club Brugge v Lens | 3-0 | Vanaken, Seys, Forbs |
| Lille v Galatasaray | 2-4 | Diaoune 2; Akgun, Batrakov, Bentaleb (og), Osimhen |
Ross Barkley opened the scoring for Villa, who kept a perfect record against the Norwegian champions, while Inter won their first points despite Alessandro Bastoni’s second-half red card. Betis also have maximum points, and Lille have lost all three games.
For United, the result in Como deepens a difficult start to the season. Dawn’s report said Carrick’s position “risks becoming untenable”, though the manager insisted he had not thought about his own job.
Comments
Comments are reviewed by our editors before they appear. Please keep them civil and on topic. See our terms.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your view.