United stood off, Nico Paz lived in the space in front of their back four, and Como won 4–1: seven games without a win.
The numbers
| Manchester United | Como 1907 | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 45% | 55% |
| Shots | 13 | 11 |
| On target | 4 | 8 |
| xG | 1.05 | 2.04 |
| Touches in opp. box | 16 | 19 |
| Crosses | 13 | 8 |
| Corners | 4 | 1 |
| Pass accuracy | 86.8% | 88.9% |
| Fouls | 11 | 10 |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester United 19% / 21% / Como 1907 60% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, De Ligt, Mazraoui, Andrey Santos, Tielemans, Cunha, Fernandes, Mount, Mbeumo.
Como 1907 (4-2-3-1): Butez, Yan Couto, Ramón, Kempf, Valle, Milla, Perrone, Da Cunha, Paz, Baturina, Douvikas.
Como subs: Caqueret (64', Baturina), Kaiki (69', Da Cunha), Dossena, Ricci and Smolčić (79', Perrone, Paz and Yan Couto). Booking: Kempf (84'). Como head coach: Cesc Fàbregas.
Line-ups from UEFA and FotMob. UEFA's line-up graphic has Mbeumo up front with Fernandes behind him; Sky Sports, SI and Sports Mole describe Fernandes as a false nine, so the two swapped in play. At half-time SI saw a switch to a back three (Mazraoui inside, Dalot to the left); The People's Person describes the full-backs swapping flanks. Sub minutes from FotMob (SI has 66' for Zirkzee and 85' for Lacey). Attendance 10,875 (UEFA).
Key moments, move by move
- Como's first attack: Da Cunha has the ball on the right and plays it inside.
- Paz receives on the edge of the box, in the gap between United's midfield and back four.
- Maguire backs off instead of stepping out, and Paz takes a touch to set himself.
- A left-footed curler inside the far post, 118 seconds in.
- Four minutes into the second half, Paz has the ball facing United's back line.
- Douvikas runs off De Ligt's shoulder, and De Ligt stumbles as he turns (Opta Analyst).
- Paz slides the pass through into the space behind.
- Douvikas is clear and beats Lammens from about 15 yards.
- Baleba, on at half-time, tries to turn in his own half with no cover behind him.
- Paz, pressing as Fàbregas had asked, nips in and takes the ball (UEFA).
- He runs almost 25 metres at a stretched back line.
- And slides it past the advancing Lammens into the far corner.
- A sweeping Como move ends with Valle releasing the substitute Kaiki down the left.
- Kaiki has time and space to cross.
- Ramón, a centre-back, has run into the box, and nobody has gone with him.
- A header from six yards past Lammens: 4–0.
- In added time Amad lifts the ball in from the right.
- Zirkzee, narrowly onside, brings it down in the box.
- He shoots on the bounce, and it goes through Butez's legs (Opta Analyst).
United stood off Como, and Paz lived in the gap in front of their back four
- The plan. Back to a back four, with De Ligt and Maguire in the middle and Fernandes and Mbeumo up front (UEFA, Sky Sports). United did not go man-for-man as they had at Leeds. Fernandes: “It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind.”
- Como's ball. Como had 55% of the ball (FotMob) and completed 594 passes, the most by any side against United in the Champions League since Barcelona's 725 in April 2019 (Opta, via Sky Sports). United spent the first half chasing it.
- The pocket. Fàbregas gives Paz a free role behind Douvikas. He kept finding the space between United's two midfielders and the back four, and Maguire and De Ligt held their line rather than step out. Paz scored the first from the edge of the box and slid Douvikas in for the second (Sky Sports, UEFA).
- The second half. Carrick: “We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that.” Paz then took the ball off Baleba for the third. United made 1.05 xG to Como's 2.04 (FotMob), and 8 of their 13 attempts came from outside the box (UEFA).
Tactical scenes
United had the ball 45% of the time and took more shots than Como, but rarely got into good areas. Maguire's header from Mbeumo's cross (17') was their clearest first-half chance; after the break Amad's dipping strike from about 25 yards was tipped over by Butez. Fernandes, playing as a false nine, often dropped deep to get the ball, so there was nobody to aim at in the box.
Evidence: 8 of United's 13 attempts came from outside the penalty area and only 5 from inside it (UEFA match statistics). United made 1.05 xG to Como's 2.04 (FotMob); Opta Analyst has 1.05 xG from 12 shots, against 2.04 from 11 for Como, 8 of them on target. UEFA: match statistics · FotMob match page · Opta Analyst: match stats · Sky Sports report
Recreate it in FM26
Como 1907 · Fàbregas's 4-2-3-1 with Paz in a free role · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Fàbregas's 4-2-3-1 with Paz in a free role
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Butez | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Yan Couto | Wing-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Ramón | Advanced Centre-Back | Centre-Back |
| LCB | Kempf | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Valle | Wing-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Milla | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Perrone | Half-Back | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Da Cunha | Inside Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Paz | Free Role | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Baturina | Half-Space Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Douvikas | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
- Progress ThroughLeft
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Trigger PressMore Often
- Pressing TrapActive
The idea: A possession 4-2-3-1 built around a Free Role No 10 who finds the space between the opponent's lines, with a Channel Forward running beyond him. You need a playmaker who can turn under pressure and a striker quick enough to pin the centre-backs.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce United's stand-in back line or the decision not to press man-to-man.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Zirkzee on at 46' (for Cunha). Add a third midfielder to guard the gap in front of the back four, keep the mid-block, and put Zirkzee on at half-time so there is someone in the box. Como would still be favourites; the gap would likely be one goal, not three. It moves Manchester United's win chance from 19% to 26% (xG 1.05–2.04 becomes 1.20–1.74). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester United needed
Leny Yoro
Two of Como's goals came from runs behind or past a slow back line: Douvikas got away from De Ligt, and Paz ran 25 metres at the defence for the third. Yoro's recovery pace lets the back four hold a higher line and step out at Paz.
Moisés Caicedo
United's problem was the gap in front of the centre-backs where Paz turned. Caicedo's game is closing that space, reading the pass into the No 10 and winning it before the turn, which is the job nobody did in Como.
What the analysts said
“It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave a little space in behind.”Bruno Fernandes (Sky Sports)
“We half pressed man-to-man in the second half and ended up conceding a goal from that.”Michael Carrick (Sky Sports)
“Whatever tactics you play, if you don't run back, you ain't going to win.”Michael Carrick (Sky Sports)
“Their goal hurt me because we dropped our intensity and dropped our defensive block, but it was my fault.”Cesc Fàbregas (Goal)
“It's one of the most special nights in my life, in my career.”Nico Paz (UEFA.com)
United gave Como's best player the ball and the space, and he did the rest.
What's happening. A 4–1 defeat at Como, and seven games without a win. Paz scored after 118 seconds, and United became the first English side to concede inside two minutes in back-to-back major European games (Opta, via Sky Sports). Como scored three more after half-time. Zirkzee's goal came in added time.
How it works. A team that chooses not to press has to guard the space in front of its back four instead. United did neither. The two midfielders were often ahead of the ball, and the centre-backs stayed deep, so a free No 10 could turn there. That is what Paz did for the first two goals. When United did go man-for-man after the break, the gaps behind the press opened instead.
What the shots say. Como made about twice United's xG and put eight of eleven shots on target. United took more shots, but most came from distance. One reading: a stand-in back line and a striker missing make this a bad night, not a pattern. The other: across seven games United have rarely controlled the middle, with or without the press.