A new low? ⚽ ESPN FC reacts to Como’s 4-1 win vs. Manchester United
ESPN FC reacts to Manchester United's 4-1 loss to Como: criticizing United's tactics and attitude while praising Fabregas's Como and Nico Paz
The show discusses United's 4-1 defeat to Como and treats it as one of their worst recent displays, criticizing the players and staff over tactics, running, leadership and body language. It then turns to Como, praising Fabregas's project and attacking football, especially Nico Paz.
- United's display was one of their worst in a long time and a new low — He saw a confused shape and pressing setup, a debutant reluctant to make decisions, and a side that could not keep the ball, build from the back, or stop Como's passing and movement.
- The decision not to press man-to-man and to leave space came from the staff, but United sometimes need to be braver and press high to make opponents uncomfortable — He argued that giving a team like Como space lets them gain confidence, so United must take more risks under pressure.
- United half-pressed man-to-man in the second half and conceded from it, but whatever the system or tactics, you will not win if you do not run forward and back — He used the second-half concession to question the tactical fix and pointed to running and execution as the decisive issue.
- Bruno's demand for man-to-man pressing does not hold up because he himself does not pick up his man or defend — He pointed out that Bruno struggles to stay with the player he has to press, yet asks his teammates and manager to play man-to-man.
- This United are awful individually, collectively, tactically and in terms of effort, and they cannot be trusted to score or keep goals out consistently, so winning is very hard — He cited the second goal: after halftime talk of pressing man-to-man, two ten-yard passes put an opponent through one-on-one in the middle; there is not enough running or sacrifice.
- The players have betrayed the coach, the fans and the club and should be held responsible — With coaches constantly coming and going, he argued the players do not run for the manager or give 100 percent, and Carrick may have been conservative because he knows what they cannot do.
- Bruno complains and play-acts too much and should talk less, run more and do his job for the club, fans and teammates — He acknowledged Bruno is a great player but criticized him for constantly moaning rather than backing up his words with action.
- United lack team spirit and leadership, and their experienced players should take responsibility instead of pushing everything onto the coach — He argued these players know how to switch between man-marking and zonal defending and should solve problems on the pitch; he suggested they clear the air internally.
- United's players may have already downed tools, with their body language and mutual complaints exposing an attitude problem — He contrasted hungry, excited and aware Como with a United side where Bruno was throwing his arms up early and Maguire was arguing with teammates; there was no energy or awareness.
- Como produced a masterclass under Fabregas, playing a non-Italian style of high pressing, creative and high-tempo attacking football — He said Como keep improving their squad with a clear plan and that Nico Paz is a midfield genius on another level, predicting Real Madrid may take him.
ESPN FC’s Kay Muray, Ale Moreno, Stewart Robson, Frank Leboeuf and Jurgen Klinsmann discuss Como’s 4-1 victory over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC
Transcript
We will get to Ko I promise Jurgen because I know you love to watch this side and so does anybody who's keeping an eye on them this season but Robo we've got to start with Manchester United. Is this a new low this season what we saw tonight? >> Absolutely. You know, I couldn't believe at the start of the game when I was looking at their team that when the opposition had the ball for most of the the first half, they had on the right wing, they had Kuna on the left wing and they had Tielemans and Fernandez sort of playing in in I could call them force nine positions and I'm not sure what they were expected to do. The two midfield players behind them weren't sure whether to press the ball or drop off. Uh they had Dick playing and I felt sorry for Dick because he's playing his first game for 11 months, but he just wanted to get through the game. He didn't really want to make any decisions. So, they're almost a player like defensively because he didn't want to come out and press anybody. He wasn't quite sure about his pace running in behind either. Manchester United were all over the place. They had one twos played around and credit to Ko, but everything that Manchester United tried to do didn't come off. They couldn't keep possession. They weren't sure how to get it from back to front. And they weren't sure how to stop Como. They weren't sure how to stop them playing out from the back. They weren't sure how to how to stop them switching play. And they weren't sure quite sure how to stop them making little runs in behind. defensively and effort-wise, I would say, and mis misunderstanding of the tactics. It was a dreadful performance by Manchester United. The worst I've seen for a while. >> So, let's get word from Bruno Fernandez, who spoke after the game. A few of the players did, and we heard from Michael Carrick, too. First of all, this is what Bruno Fernandez said. said, he said, "It's a decision a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams, they get confidence." That's on the manager and staff to see, not me. Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure, take the risk of pressing high and making them uncomfortable. So, Bruno's quote was put to Michael Carrick afterwards in his post-match presser, and this is what Carrick had to say. Um we actually were half pressed man-to-man the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that and um 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. >> Sounded a little edgy. >> Yes, >> there's some tension. Um let me just address Bruno Fernandez for a second. Uh I I was getting ready to defend him kind of maybe sort of because we don't know the tone with which he answered the question. However, where I have a real issue with Bruno Fernandez is he's asking for this team to play man-to-man and for his manager to set them out to press man-to-man when he doesn't pick up his own men. How can you play man-to-man when he doesn't want to defend? Technically, tactically speaking, if he he himself, I'm not talking about anybody else, he himself has difficulty staying with a guy that he has to press. Why would you ask anybody else to press man-to-man when you're not doing that job? That's where I have a real issue with whatever Bruno Fernandez is. As for Manchester United, this is going to be, let me keep it as basic as possible with Manchester United. They stink. They stink. They stink in the way they're playing individually as a group. They stink with the tactics. They stink with the effort. They stink. They stink, stink, stink. This team right now, if and if you don't believe me, just watch the second goal that Dubas he scored coming off a halftime where you're thinking the narrative and the rhetoric and the messaging from Michael Carrick is we got to get closer to them. We got to go and press them. In fact, he confirmed that himself. Let's go manto man. Let's go get after them. And two 10 yard passes. Two 10 yard passes. one from here to there and one from there to there puts Dubikas in a one v one situation right through the middle of the field. How my oh my anybody on this team can say well we should have gone man-to-man. H how can you have how can you have in your head in your heart in your soul how can you believe wholeheartedly that the solution is for us to go mentomen that's why we lost this game there's not enough running in this team there's not enough sacrifice on this team and beyond all of that there's another thing that is very basic can you trust Manchester United to score enough goals consistently right now can you trust Manchester United to not allow goals consistently no at the very basic anal analytical level. If you can't score goals and you're always being scored one, it's going to be really, really difficult to win games. Manchester United, they stink. >> Yeah, they are winless in seven across all competitions right now. Frank, >> yeah, that's uh that's appalling. And I'm I'm I'm going with Alli. And uh I I we had the we witnessed in on the live show a betrayal a betrayal towards the coach toward the fans and toward the club from the players because now you have to aim the players you know after all the coaches we saw going coming coming and going. Um we we have to blame them and make them guilty for what we see. Yeah, you can talk about the tactic. Yeah, maybe wasn't the best tactic, but maybe Michael Carrick knows too much what their players are incapable of doing. It's why he was maybe a little bit too defensive and they don't want them to press man-to-man. And it's when they did that second half they they they conceded goal. But why? Because those players they let him down. They let him down. They don't run for him. They don't run from the club. They don't give 100%. and Bruno Fernandez, we have to stop with that. That guy, what I see too much is cheating, he's crying, is complaining. So, yes, he's a great player, but start running. Stop talking because you know after Lisandro Martinez, some players they talk too much, especially when you're there. You just do your job. Try to do the job for the club, for the fans, for the players, for the cultury because you are not there. you're absolutely invisible. So yeah, that was that was awful appalling because the player didn't do the job. >> And it's so recent after those Landro Martinez comments, Jurgen, that we're seeing this from Bruno Fernandez criticizing the coaching staff for their style of play here. However you read into it, however he said it, it's never good to see the players criticizing the coach and the higherups at this point in a season, is it? >> No, not at all. I mean, what you see is their basically since a bit of a longer period of time already that that there is no no real spirit to it and there is a there's lack of leadership within within the team and I would maybe kind of yeah understand certain things if it was a very very inexperienced team a very young team full of youngsters and just trying things out and and not being capable to to solve certain certain situations but this is a very experienced site so the players that are there on the field They are they're not there just for a year or two. They know what actually what what is needed to do. They know how to react on the field. They know how to go men against man when it's needed and they go into zonal defending when it's needed. They have all all those solutions that they ask now for from the manager. They have them they experienced them already so many times. Um and then you expect them to step it up and do their job. And this is kind of from the outside. Obviously looking at from the outside, what I what I can see is there is no unity. There is no there being there for each other. Maybe it takes them to go into a pub and and I don't know, drink a whole night through and and hit some heads and and leave the leave the coaching aside and and and clean up some air there because they are they are responsible at the end of the day for that mess that they are in now right now. Um, and it's it's sad to see because it's such a massive club with so much potential. Um, and they are big names. I mean, it's big names players. It's not that they are players that are, you know, are just coming through from the second or third division. Uh, so I I totally agree with uh with all of you basically saying it's it's down to the players now correcting here a couple of things. >> They're desperate for a better showing at home this Sunday against Bournemouth Robbo. You wonder when we're seeing this from the players if the players have actually down tools already. >> Well, I looked right from the start of the game at the body language between the two teams. Ko's players were hungry. They looked excited. They were enjoying their football. They were sharp. They were aware of what was going on around them. I looked at the Manchester United players and the first one to throw his arms up in the air in about the third minute was Bruno Fernandez. When he went to he went to half press the ball and got played around, threw his arms up, shook his head and said, "Where's everybody else?" And when one the third goal uh the fourth goal went I think uh when the center half ran through and and headed it in Maguire who could have gone with the runner uh had a go at Bela for for not going with the runner that they were moaning at each other. There was no good body language. There was no energy. There was no awareness of where the next pass was. Whereas Ko looked bright, sharp. There was a massive difference between the two sets of players in terms of body language. And Manchester United have to get it right very very quickly. But I'm not sure how they're going to. Okay, let's get to KOMO. Their combined 11 had 62 Champions League gaps between the Manchester United's 242, but this Ko side are special. Just how good are they, Jurgen? Well, this tonight was a masterclass by SES Fabrigas and it's a masterclass coming over the time period of almost 3 four years, you know. So, Ko has a plan. Ko step by step improve their squad. Obviously, they have the financial capabilities because of their ownership, but what Tesaras is doing there is just incredible. It's absolutely incredible. The football that they're playing is so nonItalian. They're playing high press football. They're playing creative football. They're playing high paced uh football. And they have one outstanding genius in the midfield and is Nikopas. And this kid obviously is a joy to watch. We probably will see him the last season at Ko this season because then Real Madrid will will take him on. But what he's doing there is just it's just from a different level. It's just a different hemisphere and it's just so much fun to see that happening in Italy because um yeah they're playing they're playing positive football. They're playing attacking football. They want to score the second half of the first goal. And this is all those things that kind of damaged Italian football over the last decades. That's why they didn't qualify for three World Cups in a row. And Ko is doing everything right, you know, and that's now the third fourth season. Uh, and on that level is just uh, it's just a a little fairy tale. >> It really is. There we go. Como under Ces Fabregas. That's what we're looking at. But Jurgen did mention 22-year-old Niko Pass who's been instrumental to their success. A brace and an assist tonight, LA. He's special, too. >> He looks like a different class sort of player. And and perhaps we haven't seen enough of Nikico Pass at the national team level because um little problem Lionel Messi >> problem no more. >> Problem no more. And so now Nikopaz becomes the apparent good luck with that. But as it pertains to Ko what we see from him is how he's able to float in and out of positions and they find them. They know that he is the problem solver. mean they know that he's the one that is seeing a different picture and that he is the one that can find the pass or can find the goal himself and as an attacking player and again I'm going to address that that second goal by Dubikas he does so well Nikopas does in getting in behind the midfield line of uh Manchester United and ahead of the back line of Manchester United and finding that space then you as a center forward it becomes incumbent on you you are the one that has has to find the run because he will find you with the pass and sometimes his pass leads you to the run which is what happened as Dubikas was trying to set up Matias elite he just put it in a space in which he knew Dubas was going to get first he scores the goal he is seeing the field with such clarity and that is a place where you want to be as a player when you're able to see things natural that you don't have to think about it and you have the sort of confidence that he has right now and he has that confidence at Ko I don't know if this confidence is the same at Real Madrid, but he has that confidence at Ko and he has the belief of the his players, of his teammates, of his coach, of his fans. He has the belief of everybody. You're seeing the special performances. Hopefully, he can build on this. >> It's easy to admire what we're seeing from Ces Fabregas's side, Robo. >> Absolutely. You know, they seem to be aware of where their next pass is. There was a lot of one-touch football. It was composed. The center halves were very composed on the ball. If they were put under pressure, they knew where their next pass was. They knew when it was the right time to try and turn with the ball and play the next forward pass, when it was right to go backwards, when it was right to switch play. I was amazed by the and and the clarity of the players where their next pass was. That was the words that were used by Alli there. It wasn't just Nikopaz, it was the other players as well. You know, the clarity of when the ball came to them, they knew that somebody else had space. They could play it around the corner or they set it up for somebody else to play the next ball. And as Jurgen said, it was all done at good pace. It was done with control and it was done with such penetration. It was brilliant. >> Just very quickly, I'll just say in the approach that Jurgen is talking about that is nonItalian Italian from Ko. Just look at the sequence that leads to the fourth goal where your center back, first of all, they're winning three nothing. What is the center back doing there? The center back of an Italian team, what is he doing over there? Right? Traditionally, that would never happen. That wouldn't be the case. And here is the center by Hako Ramon who says, "Yeah, it's my turn to go. I'm going to go find a finish." And scores the fourth goal. It tells you that the mindset is different from this team than it is from others. >> Be great times at Como right now. Glamorous setting as well. Something Frank Lebuff knows all about. Oh yes. >> Whoa. >> What are we looking at here, Frank? uh you are looking at my kind of first movie uh where I played myself you know and the uh it's crazy because the director of that movie is the chairman of Ko Milwan Zuazo and he was my first director and a great guy that I met in Bali when we shot for 15 days uh with some great actors over there and I followed him and the guy is a football lover and I'm so pleased that he's uh the chairman of that beautiful team from that be beautiful city and that he has the network uh to exactly uh do whatever he wants with that team and and being so efficient. I mean that team is a is a gift to football with those players. I think about Nikopaz, you know, how many left footed Argentina will give us throughout their history of football after Maradona, of course, Lonel Messi, now we have Nicopas. I'm wondering if Mayo was left footed or right footed. I'm not sure, but I pretty sure that he's going to go with a left foot. Yeah. So, another one. Another one. Oh, man. God. I mean, today I discovered that player. I saw him playing like two, three time, but today that was magnificent. And I want to add Dakuna who just joined the national team of France, captain of Ko. That team is is a joy. It's just a joy. And I'm so pleased for for the for the the viewers, but also of course for me one, my first director and chairman of KOMO. >> I know what I'm watching tonight. Golden. >> Golden. All right. So that's