BRUNO FERNANDES has spoken out against Michael Carrick’s tactics after Manchester United suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Como last night.

The United captain, substituted in the second half, appeared to lay blame for the loss on the head coach’s game plan as the team extended its winless run to seven matches.

In response, manager Carrick chastised his players for not putting in enough effort.

But the question remains: are the tactics to blame, or are the United players simply reluctant to follow orders?

In the latest edition of SunSport’s Tactics Exposed, Dean Scoggins discusses the team’s missteps.

Carrick arranged his squad in a 4-4-2 formation, with Bryan Mbeumo on the right, Youri Tielemans and Fernandes leading the attack, and Matheus Cunha positioned on the left.

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His intention was for the team to set up a front four in a block formation. However, the players failed to press and assembled a midfield box, making it easy for Como to navigate through the lines.

This approach worked for the initial two minutes of the match—until United allowed a goal.

Following that, Fernandes took the initiative and broke from the line to press.

This created a notable gap in the midfield, which Como quickly exploited.

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When half the team attempts a man-to-man press, as Fernandes did, while the other half does not, disorder is the outcome.

If United had stayed within their intended mid-block of four as Carrick envisioned, it would have been significantly harder for Como players to find passing opportunities.

It’s not just about effort, either. Against Leeds over the weekend, Carrick used a deeper block to compress the space between the lines.

When employing a box midfield, the objective is to stop the opponent from playing through the central areas.

Fernandes and Tielemans should not have been the most advanced players; Mbeumo and Cunha were meant to take on that role.

That was the strategy Carrick intended to execute, but Fernandes diverged from it.

In this context, his criticisms of the tactics seem misplaced—he should not be questioning the strategy.

It appears the players either do not grasp the tactics or are unwilling to implement them under Carrick’s guidance.

Como outran United, covering over 118km compared to United’s 114km on Wednesday.

The Italian side made 19 penetrative runs into the opponent’s attacking third, with 15 into key areas and seven into the penalty area.

All of United’s runs were disjointed.

The Red Devils were consistently outmaneuvered by simple tactics, reinforcing Carrick’s claim about the lack of effort.