Van Gaal will not be granted a reprieve: why does the defeat to Como hasten Carrick's departure?
Manchester United suffered another harsh blow on Italian soil, falling to Cesc Fàbregas's Como side in a crushing defeat that exposed the English team's fragility and loss of fighting spirit.
The defensive gaps were laid bare within minutes. What followed was a nightmare that deepens the club's crisis and leaves manager Michael Carrick in an unenviable position.
Time appears to be running out fast for the man who crafted so many victories as a player, yet today looks beaten on the touchline, with pressure mounting from supporters and the board alike.
A run of failures that revives dark memories
Manchester United have failed to win in seven consecutive matches, their longest run without a victory since December 2015, when Carrick himself wore the shirt under Louis van Gaal.
That negative run invites a harsh comparison. Van Gaal was given a reprieve of nearly five months before his departure. Carrick may not even be granted five days after this defeat, described as worse than anything the team endured during the Dutchman's worst periods.
Joshua Zirkzee's stoppage-time goal spared the team their heaviest European defeat since 1994, but it couldn't hide the scale of the disaster. The Red Devils conceded the first goal after just 118 seconds, having already shipped an early goal after 47 seconds in Madrid last week. Matthijs de Ligt's first appearance after an absence lasting 325 days coincided with this heavy defeat, adding to the sense that things are spiralling out of control.
Carrick himself appeared to know what awaited him. After Nico Paz scored Como's third goal before the hour mark, the manager slumped and retreated to the bench, away from the cameras, a scene that captured his despair.
Random changes that compound the crisis
Carrick does not bear sole responsibility for this decline. The club deprived him of key signings during the summer window, and the absence of a second striker and a new left-back has been extremely costly of late.
Even so, the current squad is better than the one that finished last season in third place, and Carrick has erred in his team selection several times after fewer than twelve matches.
His changes come thick and fast, looking more like an implicit surrender. Deploying Bruno Fernandes as a false nine was the latest experiment, and it lasted no more than the first half.
Last week Fernandes played on the wings. This week he replaced Bryan Mbeumo, who had scored two goals in three previous matches as an out-and-out striker.
That had a negative effect on Youri Tielemans, who showed great creativity in the playmaker role against Atlético Madrid and Leeds when he was feeding Mbeumo, but the influence vanished completely with Fernandes. The captain was substituted in the 67th minute, and Carrick showed little interest thereafter, the match already settled.
Among the early moments that summed up the errors, Dalot wasted a golden chance in the second minute after the ball rolled invitingly in front of him. Then came Como's goal from a simple goal kick: Lucas Da Cunha passed to Nico Paz, Harry Maguire stood inexplicably off, and the ball slipped out of the goalkeeper's hands.
Noussair Mazraoui slapped his thighs in anger. Mason Mount rebuked his teammate Maguire. Carrick, meanwhile, remained frozen in place throughout the first twenty minutes before getting into a heated discussion with Matheus Cunha.
An uncertain future awaits Carrick
Voices of discontent rose from the stands early. United fans chanted "attack, attack, attack" just three minutes after kick-off, the latest display of the anger that has shadowed this season.
Kobbie Mainoo's substitution had been met with jeers in the Fulham match, and jeers accompanied the home draw against Tottenham too.
Como fans twisted the knife, chanting to the tune of "you'll be sacked in the morning", making one wonder whether this was the Italian translation of what was going through the minds of United's own supporters.
United ended the first half without a single shot on target, a lacklustre performance devoid of vitality that led many to see this match as the potential knockout blow to Carrick's spell.
The stormy atmosphere in Italy felt like a bad omen from the outset. The deeper truth is that Manchester United sometimes appear beaten before the ball is even touched.
With pressure mounting, the question remains open: will Manchester United give their manager another chance, or has the hour of departure already struck?
