Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has hit back at his captain Bruno Fernandes as the two most important figures at the club went to war after the Red Devils' 4-1 battering by Como

Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes went to war after Manchester United's humiliation at the hands of Como. The Premier League giants were thrashed 4-1 by Cesc Fabregas' Serie A outfit in the Champions League.

Club captain Fernandes - who was substituted in the 67th minute, with his team 3-0 down at the time - slammed a "decision from staff" in a shocking interview with TNT Sports following their embarrassing defeat in Italy. It comes just one week after team-mate Lisandro Martinez blasted the club's hierarchy and transfer boss Jason Wilcox in another incendiary post-match chat.

Carrick's flops have managed just two victories in 11 matches this season, with the former United and England midfielder now under huge pressure to keep his job. And Fernandes only made things worse as he claimed United's coaching team had chosen not to deploy a man-to-man marking system in the match, hinting it played a key part in the brutal loss.

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Fernandes, 32, said: "It's a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave a bit of space in behind and then try to get the ball in the first moment to wait for them, to give them the ball.

"But sometimes when you give too much the ball [away] to these teams, they get confident, they have so many bodies behind the ball that make you run a lot which makes people get frustrated.

"And then, when we recover the ball, the legs and the brain are much more difficult to make it work."

However, Carrick then responded, claiming Fernandes' remarks were off the mark and seemingly making a veiled reference to the petulant midfielder's own performance, reports the Mirror.

Carrick 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."

Carrick was quick to criticise his team's performance, while acknowledging that responsibility ultimately falls on his shoulders.

"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," he said.

"It wasn't just the goals, if I'm totally honest. It was the manner and the way we played at times, in the way we went about it, that was the difficult thing to watch for me.

"It's not about playing for me, it's about playing for this football club. It's the responsibility that comes with being in the position; I'm responsible for the football club and the supporters.

"I'm giving my best, absolute best all the time, I care about it. My whole life's wrapped around it. I genuinely give everything that I possibly can."