Man United coach Carrick apologizes for 'unacceptable' Champions League loss to Como

Manchester United coach Michael Carrick apologized to supporters after a humbling 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Carrick described the performance in Italy as unacceptable and took responsibility as United's season slumped to a new low.

“I care an unbelievable amount about the supporters. They are the heartbeat of this football club and they always will be," Carrick said. "For them to travel, I had to apologize for the performance. To have to watch a performance like that, I totally feel for them.”

Carrick walked over to the traveling fans at the end of the match and repeatedly held his hands up in recognition of the defeat.

It was United's fifth loss in all competitions this season and extended the team's winless run to seven games.

“It was more than disappointing. I think everybody has got to take responsibility for that," he said. “I 100% take responsibility for the overall team and the performance — that’s where it stops. It stops with me and I’m absolutely fine with that. I accept that totally. But as a supporter of this football club for so long, to see a performance like that is unacceptable, I have to say.”

Carrick's position is coming under increasing scrutiny just months after he was handed a two-year deal.

A serial winner as a United player, Carrick rescued the season last term when taking over on a temporary basis in January. An outstanding run of results saw United secure a third place finish in the standing and qualification for the Champions League.

But it has been a troubled start to this season, with United winning just once in the league and exiting the English League Cup at the earliest stage.

Nico Paz scored twice for Como, with Tasos Douvikas and Jacobo Ramon also on target.

Substitue Joshua Zirkzee scored a consolation for United.

Captain Bruno Fernandes appeared to question United's tactical approach to the game, telling broadcaster TNT Sports: “It’s a decision from the staff to not press man to man.”

Asked if the tactics were wrong, he added: “That's on the manager and the staff to say it, it's not on me. I just said that I think sometimes we have to be more brave under pressure, trying to take the risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable, as they did to us.”

The latest defeat comes a week after defender Lisandro Martinez hit out at United's hierarchy over recruitment following the loss to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. He later apologized.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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Como's Jacobo Ramon celebrates scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Manchester United in Como, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Manchester United's Mason Mount gestures after Como scored the second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Manchester United in Como, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick gestures as he leaves the pitch after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Manchester United in Como, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick gestures as he leaves the pitch after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Manchester United in Como, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Manchester United's head coach Michael Carrick leaves the pitch after the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Como and Manchester United in Como, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Wedding rings were exchanged, and photos of a smiling bride and well-dressed groom made it look like these were legitimate marriages.

But federal authorities argued Wednesday that the ceremonies were part of an elaborate, decade-long marriage fraud ring that netted a half-dozen people in Massachusetts millions of dollars. Prosecutors charged six people, including the alleged ringleader Jennifer Gonzalez, with conducting as many as 20 marriages to help immigrants obtain legal status.

The other five were allegedly paid by Gonzalez to take part in the marriages — several of them taking part in multiple nuptials. Each marriage cost an immigrant from $38,000 to $40,000. All face charges including harboring illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud.

“What an affront the alleged conduct revealed here today must be to those who play by the rules," U.S. Attorney Leah Foley told reporters. "To see a for-profit business whose sole purpose is helping people cheat and skip the line by simply paying for it must be so offensive and disheartening to those who follow our country’s laws.”

Five of the six were arrested Wednesday morning. A sixth defendant is currently in state prison serving a sentence for a firearms crime.

“Ms. Gonzalez got rich off selling the American Dream all the while investing her money in another country,” Foley said, detailing how Gonzalez allegedly used profits from the marriage ring to buy businesses and real estate in the Dominican Republic. She is an American citizen.

An attorney for Gonzalez, 43, of Fall River, Massachusetts, had no comment. Gonzalez made an initial appearance Wednesday, and a hearing will be held Friday to determine if she will be held in detention while the case is pending.

The arrests are the latest effort to crack down on marriage fraud and come as the Trump administration has increased restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and reduced the avenues available for people to enter the country or become a citizen.

In August, 11 people were charged with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme to help hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtain green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens. In that scheme, American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status. The decade-long scheme netted tens of millions of dollars.

Three years ago, a similar scheme was prosecuted in Massachusetts. Marcialito Biol Benitez, a 49-year-old Philippine national living in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud. Benitez admitted operating a large-scale marriage fraud agency in which he arranged marriages between foreign nationals and American citizens.

In the latest case, prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing. They allege in the court documents that some of the defendants lied on applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by falsely claiming they never had been married. Gonzalez is also accused of spending $120,000 she received in SNAP benefits. Prosecutors also accused the defendants of engaging in housing and unemployment fraud.

None of the immigrants who entered into the marriages have been charged.

“Marriage fraud undermines the processes that ensure honest, lawful individuals can marry United States citizens and enjoy everything the United States has to offer to them,” John Soares, assistant special agent in charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England, told reporters. “Fraudsters, like the individuals arrested today, make that process more difficult.”

Boston, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley is joined by John Soars, assistant special agent in charge Homeland Security Investigations in New England and Shawn Saucier, Northeast Regional Chief, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to announce the arrest of six people for allegedly arranging sham marriages over the past decade that netted them millions of dollars during a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley is joined by John Soars, assistant special agent in charge Homeland Security Investigations in New England and Shawn Saucier, Northeast Regional Chief, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to announce the arrest of six people for allegedly arranging sham marriages over the past decade that netted them millions of dollars during a news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)