Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he instructed his Como players to ‘slow down’ after they established a commanding 4-0 advantage over Manchester United in the Champions League.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder, who now manages the Italian outfit, witnessed his team produce a historic performance on Wednesday night as they comfortably dismantled the Red Devils.
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Joshua Zirkzee managed to grab a late consolation goal for United, but the defeat has intensified the pressure on Michael Carrick, whose position as manager is now in serious doubt. United have managed just two victories from 11 matches across all competitions this season.
However, the situation could have been even more embarrassing for Carrick’s team. Fabregas disclosed that he instructed his players to reduce their intensity after taking a four-goal lead, hoping to conserve their energy for upcoming fixtures.
“I regret the last ten minutes because I was the one who told the team to slow down the tempo because there’s another match and at 4-0 we could manage things a little,” said the Spaniard.
“I TOLD THEM TO SLOW DOWN AT 4-0!” 😳 Cesc Fabregas admits Man Utd’s late goal hurt him pic.twitter.com/UsKlpEqiZg
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) October 21, 2026
“I told the players to stop running and stay in the middle and that is something I regret because I’m the first to always push them to fight until the end.
“Their goal hurt me because we dropped our intensity and dropped our defensive block, but it was my fault.”
Meanwhile, Carrick is under growing pressure to save his job at Manchester United, despite signing a two-year contract in the summer following an impressive stint as the club’s caretaker manager.
