Como 4-1 Manchester United: 3 noticeable differences between the two sides
Manchester United cannot seem to get a grip, as Michael Carrick’s men have just recorded perhaps their most embarrassing loss of the season: a 4-1 loss to Cesc Fabregas’s Como. This result says as much about the former Chelsea midfielder as it does the Man United gaffer.
Six years younger, Fabregas’s coaching trajectory has taken the opposite direction to Carrick’s. What’s funny is that this isn’t what was said about the former Manchester United midfielder last season, as the 45-year-old was racking up points en route to a Champions League place. Como was doing the same over in Italy, but this season, while the exciting Italian side has continued looking good, the Red Devils are flailing.
Sitting in fifth place, Fabregas’s side is five points behind the league leaders. Man Utd is in 13th place, with just one win from seven. To say Como is better than Manchester United in every way would be true, but it would also be cliché. So I’d show it. Here are three noticeable differences between the two sides that finished on 71 points last season.
Style of play
OK, to be fair, it’s easy to beat Man United in this category, but this is still worth mentioning. Como was playing football that you could drink. Sweet, easy on the eye, and refreshing. The way the players moved the ball around and broke Man Utd’s press was exciting.
The players seemed to be swimming on the pitch, and Carrick’s men looked more and more discombobulated as time passed. The Red Devils manager said after the game that he “takes 100% responsibility for the team and performance”. Of course he may be trying to be noble, but this actually is 100% his fault. Of the two sides, Como looked like the established football entity. It was beautiful…or disgusting, depending on who you ask.
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Chance creation
If you know me, you know how much I like my chance creation statistics. In this game, Como blew Man United out of the water, especially regarding quality. The away side took two more shots than their opponents, but Fabregas’s men created far better-quality shots.
Overall, the Como players combined for 2.04 expected goals (xG) from just 11 shots. Man United managed about half of that, with two more attempts. On xG/shot, it gets even uglier. The Serie A side averaged 0.19, compared to 0.08. That’s more than double! This gulf in quality explained the fourth goal. Jacobo Ramon was so open in space – in the six-yard box – that you can only wonder what the Man Utd defenders were doing.
Shooting quality
It’s one thing to get into good positions; it’s another to shoot the ball in a way that the keeper has a hard time stopping it. Como did both perfectly well. Not only did they average 0.19 per shot, they averaged 0.51 xGoT per shot on target. This is ridiculous. It means the home players got into great shooting positions often, but also shot the ball well.
Como had double the shots on target that Man United did, but had 5.7 times the xGoT. In a roundabout way, this draws attention to the Man United goalie, Senne Lammens. The Belgium international made four saves and still conceded four goals. Now imagine if he hadn’t saved those.
Conclusion
As accurate as it is to recognise the role of Fabregas in this win, you must also recognise the role of Nico Paz. Paz was exceptional in this game. He took four shots, all of which were on target, and scored twice. He didn’t end there, though.
He also assisted, won important fouls for his team, and helped out defensively. He’s easily the man of the match. Man Utd, on the other hand, needs to change something. The fans must be tired of seeing Carrick talk about taking responsibility, while the team continues to look like an eyesore. It’s only a matter of time before Man United puts him out of his misery.
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