According to a report by BBC Sport on Thursday, October 22, 2026, Youri Tielemans has criticised Manchester United’s tactical approach following their disappointing 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como, adding to the pressure on manager Michael Carrick after captain Bruno Fernandes also questioned the team's strategy.

Tielemans pointed to tactical weaknesses, technical mistakes and a lack of effort as the main reasons behind United’s latest poor performance.

Wednesday’s defeat marked another setback for United, who have now gone seven matches without a victory. Como, competing in the Champions League for the first time in their history this season, dominated the encounter to claim an emphatic win.

Fernandes openly questioned the decisions made by Carrick and his coaching staff, particularly their approach to pressing opponents.

“It’s a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, but sometimes when you give too much the ball to these teams they get confidence,” the United captain told TNT Sports.

When asked whether Carrick had got his tactics wrong, Fernandes added: “That’s on the manager and staff to see it, not me. Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure, take the risk of pressing high and making them uncomfortable.”

Tielemans also addressed United’s struggles after the match, arguing that their problems went beyond tactical organisation.

“It’s a combination of everything: tactical, technical, effort,” the Belgium international said when asked to explain the team’s difficulties.

“It’s everything. You can be good tactically but if the effort isn’t there, or the other way round, you have to be good at everything, but tonight we were poor at everything.”

The midfielder emphasised that United needed to turn their discussions into better performances on the pitch instead of repeatedly explaining their disappointing results.

“It’s the same message as we’ve had the last few weeks. We can be here and talk about it, but we have to show it on the pitch,” he said.

Tielemans also apologised to the supporters who travelled to Italy and those who watched the match from home, acknowledging their disappointment with the team's performance.

“The only thing we can do is try to show something on the pitch, which we haven’t done over the last few weeks.”

The result marks United’s worst European defeat since 1996 and comes during an already difficult campaign, following their poorest start to a Premier League season in 40 years.