According to a report by Metro on Thursday, October 22, 2026, Michael Carrick has responded to criticism surrounding Manchester United after their embarrassing 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como, admitting that he was really angry with the way some of his players performed during the match.

Como, who are playing in the Champions League for the first time in their history, produced an impressive performance to beat United and leave Carrick facing more questions about his team's poor start to the new season.

Manchester United have struggled to find consistency in recent weeks, and the defeat has made an already difficult situation worse, with captain Bruno Fernandes also expressing his frustration after the game and questioning the club's habit of looking too much at its past success instead of focusing on the future.

Carrick, however, was unhappy with the effort shown by some of his players and made it clear that no tactical plan would work if the team failed to put in the necessary work on the pitch.

He said: "We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that. And there’s a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don’t run, and you don’t run forward, and you don’t run back, you ain’t going to win. We might win, we might lose, but the way we went about it tonight, I wouldn’t say everyone, but the way we went about it in some ways tonight wasn’t acceptable. And I just wanted to let the fans know that I feel for them, for sure."

The United manager's comments suggest that he believes the players must take responsibility for their poor display, rather than blame the team's tactics alone, especially after conceding four goals against a side making its first appearance in the competition.

The result has increased the pressure on Carrick, who must now find a way to improve the team's performances and restore confidence among supporters, while the growing disagreement between the manager and his captain could create further problems at Old Trafford if results do not improve soon.