The Sun's Samuel Luckhurst, meanwhile caimed that Carrick had a 'relatively robust' encounter with Cunha during an argument that wasn't picked up by TV cameras. While some United fans raised concerns over the "altercation" between the Brazilian and his manager.

Cunha was removed at half-time, being replaced by Amad as Carlos Baleba also entered the fray at the start of the second half in a bid to rescue the match. However, it was to no avail as United were second best in every department.

United's hopes of an important win in Europe were more or less extinguished within two minutes when Paz curled home a superb opener, leaving the team immediately deflated. Carrick's men were punished for their lax defending as they stood off the former Real Madrid talent.

The visitors were fortunate not to go in at the break behind by a larger margin. However, just two minutes into the second half, Anastasios Douvikas was on target in the first of an eight-minute salvo from Como, with Paz capitalising on a United mistake.

He said: "It's a decision from the staff to not press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams they get confidence.

"It's not the first time, we started on the wrong foot, and they scored very early. Not much pressure on the ball, not many good movements with the ball, not many things going our way.

"Conceding early makes us go into game with a mood of defeat, it's difficult to get out of that, trying to be brave, to have the ball and make something happen. If we are not able to do that, it is going to be very difficult to get out of this situation."

Carrick hit back at Fernandes and questioned his squad's desire, with the club moving towards a crisis on and off the pitch. He said: "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."

"We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that. And there's a little bit on whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play, if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you ain't going to win."