Manchester United were taken apart in Italy on Wednesday night, beaten 4-1 by Como in their Champions League-phase tie at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Nico Paz scored twice for the hosts.

Paz put Como ahead in the second minute, bending a shot into the far corner from the inside-right channel after being given far too much room in the final third. The goal made United the first English team to concede inside the first two minutes in consecutive major European matches.

At 22 years and 43 days, Paz also became the second-youngest South American to score against United in the competition, behind only Lionel Messi in the 2009 final.

United managed little in reply before the break, with Youri Tielemans’ effort their only shot on target in the first half.

Michael Carrick switched back to the 3-5-2 system used against Leeds United at half-time, having seen his 4-2-4 pressing shape fail to work. It made no difference. Como struck again four minutes into the second half, when Paz played a pass through United’s centre-backs and Tasos Douvikas finished to make it 2-0. Paz added his second in the 57th minute, and Jacobo Ramón headed in the fourth in the 76th. United grabbed a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

The numbers underline how one-sided it was. Como had 56 per cent of the ball and put nine of their 12 shots on target, while United managed four on target from 13 attempts. The visitors also picked up three yellow cards, including one for Andrey Santos in the first half.

The result is a landmark night for the Italian side, who have now won once and lost once in their other two group matches. They beat RB Leipzig 4-1 on Matchday 1 before losing 3-2 at Feyenoord last week. They travel to Lens on November 4. For United, the heavy defeat on their return to the Champions League will pile fresh pressure on Carrick and raise new doubts about the team’s defensive organisation and attacking threat on the European stage.

Photo Credit: getty images