ROME — Manchester United is hardly putting up a fight in the Champions League these days.
Michael Carrick’s struggling team was beaten 4-1 at competition newcomer Como on Wednesday and United has now been outscored 6-1 in its last two European matches.
Nico Paz scored twice and also set up another score for Cesc Fabregas' Como, which was playing in the fourth division of Italian soccer just seven years ago.
“We got outplayed for most of the game so it was a very disappointing night," United midfielder Youri Tielemans said. "It’s everything. You can be good tactically but if the effort is not good (then it won't work) and vice versa. You need to be good at everything and tonight we were poor. It comes down to that.”
United was already in turmoil, with defender Lisandro Martinez last week calling out the club's hierarchy over its offseason recruitment, with director of football Jason Wilcox the apparent target of his criticism.
In January, Ruben Amorim had a fallout with Wilcox which swiftly led to the manager being fired after just 14 months in the job.
Now Carrick appears at risk.
In the other early game, Galatasaray won 4-2 at Lille with Victor Osimhen scoring against one of his former clubs.
Nico Paz puts on a show
Paz has been auditioning to take over Lionel Messi’s playmaker spot with Argentina and his performance against United was a case in point.
At the tiny 10,000-seat Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium, Paz put Como ahead two minutes in with a curling shot from the edge of the area when Harry Maguire allowed him some space.
United became the first English team to concede in the opening two minutes of consecutive major European matches after Pablo Barrios scored in the opening minute of Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win last week.
Tasos Douvikas then took a pass from Paz before lobbing in over goalkeeper Senne Lammens for his third goal in three Champions League matches.
For Como’s third, Paz went in virtually uncontested before shooting around Lammens. Center back Jacobo Ramon scored Como's fourth.
Joshua Zirkzee pulled one back for United in the stoppage time.
United has won only one of its last 11 Champions League away matches.
Como moved up to sixth in the standings, while United dropped to 20th.
Galatasaray overcomes Diaoune's double
In France, 19-year-old Soriba Diaoune scored twice for Lille in the first half but it was 2-2 at the break before an own goal and a strike from Osimhen put Galatasaray in control.
It was Galatasaray’s first win of this season’s competition, while Lille has now lost all three of its matches.
Bayern-Arsenal coming up
In the late games, six-time winner Bayern Munich plays last season's runner-up Arsenal and Real Madrid warms up for this weekend's clasico by facing Leipzig.
Also, Italian champion Inter Milan meets Shakhtar Donetsk at the San Siro still seeking its first points in this year's competition.
The match in Munich pits one of Europe’s most devastating attacking units against the most well-organized defense on the continent.
Bayern, which has four points from a possible six in the Champions League so far, is coming off a 6-1 win over Leipzig in the Bundesliga that makes it 36 goals in 10 games this season.
Arsenal has yet to concede a goal after back-to-back wins in Europe and is tied for the best defensive record in the Premier League with five goals conceded in seven games of its title defense.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has a viral infection and is doubtful to attend the game. Midfielder Joshua Kimmich has been ruled out for personal reasons following a death in his family, Bayern said Wednesday.
José Mourinho’s Real Madrid is involved in an ongoing battle with the Spanish league over alleged refereeing controversies and will want a more straightforward match after needing three goals in the final 10 minutes to beat Roma last week.
Madrid visits Spanish league leader Barcelona on Sunday.
Also Wednesday, it's: Real Betis vs. Feyenoord; Club Brugge vs. Lens; Aston Villa vs. Viking; and Sporting Lisbon vs. LASK.
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