Reporting note: this article draws on Sky Sports; Score808 Live provides the summary and editorial framing.
Man Utd team news: four returns possible for Bournemouth
Man Utd team news centres on four possible returns for Sunday's home fixture against Bournemouth, after a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como left Michael Carrick's side seven matches without a win across all competitions. Carrick said he was "angry" after the match.
Four of the nine players unavailable in Italy could be back. Leny Yoro (suspension), Lisandro Martinez (injury) and Ayden Heaven (illness) would refresh the defence. Marcus Rashford could add to the attack.
Como, five months and a broken tactical consensus
Thursday marks five months since United announced Carrick would remain as head coach, on a deal running to 2028. The 4-1 defeat in Como was his worst night in the role.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes criticised the tactical plan deployed in Italy. A week earlier, centre-back Lisandro Martinez aimed at the hierarchy, with technical director Jason Wilcox in his sights, over the club not strengthening the squad further in the summer window.
United have made their worst-ever start to a Premier League season. Last season they finished third and played 40 games. This season adds Champions League football to the load.
Elements of the Como defeat
- Como scored after two minutes, setting the game state United could not reverse.
- Fernandes operated as a false nine, with no out-and-out striker available.
- Full-backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui had games to forget.
- Matthijs de Ligt laboured on his first appearance in 11 months.
- The final margin was 4-1.
Bruno Fernandes: one goal involvement in nine games
Fernandes has one goal involvement in his past nine United appearances. All four of his Premier League goal involvements this season arrived in a single match against Ipswich Town: three goals and one assist.
His chance creation figures have halved from last season, when he broke the assists record. Since the Ipswich game he has taken 12 shots, two of them on target.
Shot volume without shot quality
No team has had more shots than United this season. They rank joint-worst for xG per shot. The attempts skew speculative rather than substantial.
Benjamin Sesko remains absent through injury, and United have no alternative out-and-out striker. Over the final 17 games of last season, with Carrick in charge, they were the top scorers in the division.
No clean sheet and no settled midfield
United have not kept a clean sheet this season. Injuries to Martinez and Luke Shaw, illness for Heaven and suspension for Yoro removed options in Italy, but the structure without the ball has been opened repeatedly.
Carrick has rotated midfield pairings in front of the back line. Carlos Baleba, working back to fitness, is likely part of the combination he is still seeking.
Running, spending and the Bournemouth test
United have been out-run in six of their seven Premier League games. The exception came against Manchester City, who played more than an hour with a man fewer. Youri Tielemans had earlier suggested a lighter load of pre-season running, after a World Cup summer.
Carrick's diagnosis was direct: "If you don't run back, you ain't going to win."
United spent £163m in the summer window, less than promoted Hull City and Ipswich Town and seven other Premier League clubs. Midfield was the focus. Left-back and centre-forward were not reinforced. The reasons for the scale of the outlay stretch back to the Glazer takeover.
Fernandes framed the mental side after Como's second-minute opener: "Conceding the goal very early makes us feeling, going into the game, already in a mood of a defeat." He said United must be brave on and off the ball.
Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday is the next measurement point.
The original report is available at skysports.com.
