CONFIRMED
Manchester United were taken apart 4-1 at Como in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Sky Sports’ match report confirms the defeat stretches their run to seven games without a win. Nico Paz scored twice and set up another, starting with a curler in the second minute. The questions over Michael Carrick’s future are getting louder.
What we know
This was Matchday 3 of the 2026/27 league phase at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on 21 October. Como came into it as Champions League debutants under Cesc Fàbregas. They played nothing like debutants.
Sky Sports reports that Paz needed barely two minutes. Harry Maguire gave him too much room, and Paz curled the ball into the top corner. A Yahoo Sports headline called it a third-minute goal, and a VAVEL timeline lists it at 3′. The timelines from Sky Sports, BBC Sport and USA TODAY Sports all have it at 2 minutes, so we are going with the second minute.
According to Sky Sports’ key-moments log, Tasos Douvikas went down in the box in the first half after a challenge from goalkeeper Senne Lammens. The offside flag was already up against Douvikas, so no penalty was given. Under Law 11, a player in an offside position is penalised only once he becomes involved in active play. No official UEFA explanation of the call was found.
Four minutes into the second half, Paz turned provider. Sky Sports says Douvikas ran away from Matthijs de Ligt and finished in the 49th minute for 2-0. The BBC’s live page, syndicated on AOL, noted that De Ligt was making his first start since last November after back surgery. That was a brutal way to come back.
Paz then caught Carlos Baleba in possession and scored again for 3-0, per Sky Sports. The match finished 4-1.
The night only adds to a bad start. Before kick-off, Al Jazeera reported that United had won just two of their 10 games in all competitions and were having their worst start to an English top-flight campaign in 40 years. Brighton had knocked them out of the League Cup, and Atlético Madrid had beaten them in the Champions League the week before.
What is rumored
Two Carrick-related claims are going around, and both come from low-grade sources. Newswav live-blog aggregation and opinion pieces on Brit Brief describe Carrick as “on the brink” and say his job is in serious danger. These are aggregator and commentary sites offering opinion and speculation. They are not quoting the club or a proven reporter.
On Paz, CaughtOffside, as relayed by Goal, previously reported that United were eyeing a summer move for the 22-year-old, with Real Madrid holding a buy-back clause. CaughtOffside is an aggregator-style transfer site with a mixed record, and this link came before the match. We found no confirmation of it.
What we don’t know yet
No official club statement on Carrick’s future was found. The stronger language comes from the media. Sky Sports reports the pressure continues to pile up, and USA TODAY Sports wrote that his status is “surely in doubt.” Both are characterisations, not announcements.
We also have no official word on the disallowed Douvikas incident beyond the flag itself. The finer details of the timing remain unexplained.
What it means
For Carrick, the turn has been sharp. He was confirmed as interim boss in mid-January 2026, after Ruben Amorim was sacked on 5 January and Darren Fletcher had a brief caretaker spell. Flashscore reported that United went unbeaten in his first six games. Al Jazeera reported he was given the job permanently in May on the back of that interim spell. Now his side have gone seven games without a win.
Before the game, Carrick said: “I don’t need any reassurance.” That is a defiant line. Results like this are what turn media pressure into boardroom pressure, but so far there is pressure and no announcement. Anyone who says otherwise is ahead of the facts.
As for Paz, one night does not make a global superstar. Still, two goals and an assist against Manchester United on a Champions League stage is a strong case to make. The curler showed his technique, and the third goal showed how alert he is to a mistake. The transfer talk is only a rumor. The performance was real, and the big clubs will have noticed it.
