Italian side Como ran riot against Manchester United but it could have been worse for the Red Devils after boss Cesc Fabregas made a post-match admission

Cesc Fabregas admits he told his Como side to 'slow down' after they romped into a 4-0 lead against Manchester United in the Champions League.

The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder is manager of the Italian club and they enjoyed one of the most famous nights in their history as they swatted aside the Red Devils on Wednesday night.

Joshua Zirkzee scored a late consolation for United but it is a result that leaves Michael Carrick's job hanging by a thread. United have won just two of 11 games in all competitions so far this season.

And it could have been even worse for Carrick's side after Fabregas admitted he told his players to take the foot off the gas after going 4-0 up in order to preserve their energy levels for their games ahead.

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"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 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.”

Carrick is now facing a battle to remain as United manager despite only penning a two-year deal in the summer after an impressive spell as caretaker boss.

He took aim at his players in his post-match press conference, saying: "We might win, we might lose, but the way we went about it tonight, I wouldn't say everyone, but the way we went about it in some ways tonight wasn't acceptable. And I just wanted to let the fans know that I feel for them, for sure.

"It wasn't just the goals, if I'm totally honest. It was the manner and the way we played at times, in the way we went about it, that was the difficult thing to watch for me.

"It's not about playing for me, it's about playing for this football club. It's the responsibility that comes with being in the position; I'm responsible for the football club and the supporters.

"I'm giving my best, absolute best all the time, I care about it. My whole life's wrapped around it. I genuinely give everything that I possibly can."