Manchester United have been smashed 4-1 by Como in the Champions League, marking seven games without a win in all competitions for the Red Devils.

Inside two minutes, United played some tidy football, leading to Diogo Dalot being slipped through, but his wild shot went astray.

Then the worst possible thing happened, with Como immediately going up the other end with Harry Maguire dropping off from Nico Paz on the right, which gave him the space to bend one past Senne Lammens on the edge of the box to make it 1-0.

Como continued to dominate the first-half with fluid football and nullified United. The only other major chance Carrick's side had was in the 16th minute when Bryan Mbeumo whipped the ball in for Maguire who was alone in the box but his header went over.

In a similar vein to the first-half, the first two minutes United started somewhat aggressive with the substitution of Carlos Baleba. Yet in the 47th minute, Paz drove with the ball towards the box with Matthijs de Ligt and Maguire dropping off before the Argentinian slipped through Anastasios Douvikas and he dinked it over Lammens. 

Things went from bad to worse in the 57th minute when Paz was slipped in once again and slotted the ball past the Belgian keeper. Then, just as it appeared 3-0 could be the final scoreline, centre-back Jacobo Ramon found himself up the field in open play and in the box with loads of space and headed home a fourth in a dream night for Como.

In the 91st minute, Joshua Zirkzee scored a consolation goal which was assisted by Amad to make it 4-1.

One of the biggest criticisms of Ruben Amorim's tenure, especially towards the end, was that the players looked like they had never played together before. There was an incoherent press. Players were sloppy on the ball and numb to the way the club played. 

Yet when Carrick first arrived at Manchester United, the team played some of the best attacking football the club has played in recent years, especially on the ball with the way the players moved the ball with one-touch passing. 

It feels like the end of a very short cyclical structure, with Carrick now being the one who has a team and a system, with players once again playing like deer in the headlights. Some of these players, like Bruno Fernandes, Dalot and Maguire, have played hundreds of games together.

Some of the players have been here for years, like Mason Mount. De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, yet they look more and more like players who have been forced to play with each other for the first time. No movement, only one player pressing at a time and just overall sloppiness. Seems like something that gets repeated in every report after a game. 

There is not a single phase of the game where, in the last few fixtures, let alone in this game against Como, the side has looked comfortable in and out of possession. 

The glaring issue with the system is the amount of space between each line. Whether it is between the attack and midfield, or the lines between the midfielders and the defenders, in this current system there is so much space for the opposition to go into and overload United. 

Then comes the press. With the front line, players do not press as a unit. Instead, it's either Bruno on his own or Mbeumo, which then allows Como to pass it through them like they aren't there. Then, as a whole, the press navigates its way to one side of the pitch but then leaves the entire other side free for opposition wingers and full-backs to exploit. 

The system summraises Manchester United as a club, feeble and a complete mess. 

This is a factor which links with the system, but the players were not switched on at any point in this game, apart from the substitutes. The first goal says it all, not because Manchester United conceded after they almost scored, but because of the amount of space Maguire allows Paz to run into before scoring.

Allowing any player, let alone the opposition's best player, that much space by dropping deep at this level foreshadowed the rest of the game. Players were not scanning before receiving the ball, and either turned into danger or were caught off their toes. 

It was clear that the players heads had gone and while it is not an excuse but does explain the massive extent to which the level of the performance dropped off after going 1-0 down let alone 2-0.

It feels as though, in every game, the performances and results seem to get worse and worse at Manchester United. Even with the very few positive moments against Atletico Madrid and Leeds United, the overall results added to the overwhelming pressure on the club. 

But from the scoreline to the performance today, there was not a single positive to be taken. Even before a ball was kicked, when you look at the substitute bench, there were only four outfield senior players. That's before you look at the makeshift defence that had been put together. 

No matter what happens to Carrick, people in the INEOS hired heirachy like Jason Wilcox need to have the pressure ramped up. It is the manager's job to get the best out of the players, but it is the board and recruitment teams' jobs to put the club and squad in a position to compete.

When there were glaring holes that were not filled in the summer, it did not come as a surprise that the doomsday scenario of the squad being gutted by injuries had arrived. 

Carrick will always be a Manchester United legend no matter what. However, it is hard to see how, if he somehow survives after this game, he manages to pull back the situation. 

The players look as if their heads are gone and constantly out of position, with everything so disjointed, which is never a good sign for any manager.  It's been seven games in a row without a win for United, and with only two wins in general so far this season, there have been no results or performances to back up the idea of him staying.

The only possible reasons for him staying could be that there is no time to bring in a replacement in time for the game against Bournemouth, or that they want to wait till the next international break. The latter simply feels like delaying the inevitable. 

This side needs new ideas and an injection of life as soon as possible. INEOS would have sacked all three permanent managers under their ownership if Carrick were to go, so it remains to be seen whether the fourth manager since 2024 can be a success under them.