Como vs. Man Utd: Nico Paz scores twice as Como rout Manchester United 4-1

Como 4, Manchester United 1. Champions League debutants Como handed United one of the worst European nights in the club’s history on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on the shore of Lake Como. Nico Paz scored twice and set up another, and the result piled more pressure on head coach Michael Carrick. “Como vs Man Utd” was one of the biggest US searches of the day, topping 200,000 on Google Trends.

Como vs. Man Utd: How the goals came

Minute	Team	Scorer	Assist
2’	Como	Nico Paz	Lucas da Cunha
49’	Como	Tasos Douvikas	Nico Paz
57’	Como	Nico Paz	—
76’	Como	Jacobo Ramón (header)	Kaiki
90’+1	Man Utd	Joshua Zirkzee	Amad Diallo

Scorers and assists per BBC Sport and ESPN.

Paz, the Argentina playmaker, opened the scoring after 118 seconds with a curling shot into the far corner, according to ESPN and the BBC. Eight days after conceding in the first minute against Atlético Madrid, United became the first English team to concede inside the first two minutes of consecutive major European matches, the BBC noted.

Como led 1-0 at halftime. Paz then threaded a pass for Douvikas four minutes into the second half. He made it 3-0 in the 57th minute after pouncing on a mistake by substitute Carlos Baleba, ESPN reported. Center back Jacobo Ramón added a powerful close-range header. Zirkzee’s stoppage-time finish from Amad’s cross was a consolation.

Key stats

	Como	Man Utd
Possession	55%	45%
Shots (on target)	11 (8)	13 (4)
Expected goals (xG)	2.04	1.05
Corners	1	4

Stats per BBC Sport; ESPN’s figures are similar.

Pressure on Carrick

The BBC called it “about as comprehensive a victory and as one-sided a match as it is possible to imagine.” It also pointed out that when United last won the Champions League in 2008, Como were in Serie D. United were close to matching their heaviest European defeat, a 5-0 loss to Sporting in 1964.

Carrick took off Matheus Cunha and Andrey Santos at halftime and later captain Bruno Fernandes. After the whistle he went to the traveling fans with his hands raised in apology, the BBC reported. It compared the scene to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a 4-1 loss at Watford in 2021, which was followed by his dismissal. ESPN noted that United are now without a win in seven matches in all competitions. Any talk about Carrick’s job is media speculation; the club hasn’t commented on his position.

Champions League standings

After three of eight league-phase games, according to the BBC’s table on Wednesday evening:

• Como: 2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points, 10th place (two home wins in their first Champions League campaign).
• Manchester United: 1 win, 2 losses, 3 points, 23rd place.

The top eight go straight to the round of 16, and places 9 through 24 go to the knockout playoff round. Standings can still change with Wednesday’s late games.

What’s next

United host Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday. Como host Sassuolo in Serie A on Saturday, ESPN reported.

FAQ

What was the Como vs. Man Utd score? Como won 4-1.

Who scored for Como? Nico Paz (2), Tasos Douvikas and Jacobo Ramón.

Who scored for Manchester United? Joshua Zirkzee, in stoppage time.

Where was the game played? Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Como, Italy.