Key events
42 mins: Malen is booked for pulling back Baleba around 28 yards out. Maybe United should just shoot. Fernandes lines it up … and hits the wall. Everyone go for a half-time pint.
41 mins: United have enjoyed slightly more possession, so there is that.
Rob Hopkins emails “Surely Amass isn’t as bad as this, the reluctance to trust a youth player who’s trained and played that position his whole life is worth a shot. Sure, he might make a mistake, but that would be 4 less than Dalot has made in 30 mins.”
You’d hope not. They were open to selling him in the summer despite the fact they had no other options.
40 mins: Almost a third for Roma who easily play through United and the ball is set up for Mora to finish but Yoro saves the day.
Krishnamoorthy writes: “Now I realise that Jose has gone to Real and am kicking myself for my earlier mail of Jose driving the nail
“Whoever it is , the problem at United today is not going to be fixed by resting their captain, dropping their goal keeper , or removing their manager – the united problem needs a complete overhaul – and you need a man of SAF’s calibre to build something new from scratch.”
38 mins: United are working away around the edge of the Roma box but do not look like crating anything. They have yet to test Roma’s third-choice ‘keeper.
“I really thought with City’s existential crisis that United would revel in former glory but also lay low in terms of drama, instead it’s as if they’ve gone – hold my beer …” says Nicola Schofield. “I can see if City get a points deduction which team they’ll potentially save from relegation!! (May 2027 final plot twist).”
36 mins: Lulli is booked for a very blatant handball. He seemed genuinely worried if Dalot got beyond him in possession of the ball, he could do some damage. How naive.
Pramith Pillai emails: “There is no hope. Carrick doesn’t trust the young defenders, which makes them nervous & uncertain while defending. Our left-back is an aspirational footballer who’s already burned out as a right-back.
“I hope we’ll get Conte soon. If not, I doubt we’ll win anything in the Championship next year as well.”
34 mins: Mbeumo gets the wrong side of the Roma defence but is naturally caught and tackled before any danger comes of it. United are just going through the motions now.
32 mins: To be fair, Cunha is putting in the hard yards here but the chances of it making a difference are slim.
“I’d be less inclined to blame the 20 year old Ayden Heaven,” writes Andy Donald. “I’d be looking squarely at Dalot for that – he’s been exposing his fellow defenders for many years now. I’d wonder how many goals he has directly been at fault for in the past 10 games. It must be close to 50%. It’s 100% tonight anyway.”
30 mins: If Malen can show United something, it is that underperforming Dutch strikers can come good. Surely Zirkzee can’t be any worse than this anonymous effort in the final third.
Stephen Carr emails: “Evening Will, I’m really excited to see Diogo Dalot’s renaissance as a footballer once the Glazer’s sell up …”
Kári Tulinius writes: “What a season Roma is having so far! Such a good watch, too. Gianpiero Gasperini has fashioned an exciting, dynamic side out of parts that didn’t fit obviously together. This time they feel like genuine title contenders. Winning Ol’ Big Ears is almost certainly beyond them, but they’ll have a good go.”
28 mins: Diallo drives into the box and goes down but it is fine tackle from Wesley, even if the United fans think it merits a penalty.
26 mins: Michael Carrick said people would think he is “crazy” for looking forward to this game. Yes, yes we do.
Baleba enjoys a respectable one-two with Cunha on the edge of the box but the resulting shot goes well over.
24 mins: “Sell United and f*** off home” comes the chant around the ground.
Peter Oh emails: “David Flynn’s shrewd managerial analysis reminds me of something I’ve wondered about for a while. Why, when their team has just conceded, do coaches feel the need to immediately crowd around an iPad? Why don’t they get up to look their players in the eye and encourage them to regroup?
“It’s as if the screen offers an answer that can’t be discerned from looking at the actual pitch!
“Game’s gone.”
Joshua Keeling asks: “How bad will this get? Why is Carrick still there? Why is life so hard?”
22 mins: The United fans are throwing tennis balls and other items onto the pitch in protest at the ownership and the dreadful way in which the club is being run.
Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada look miserable.
Rensch goes off injured and Lulli is on.
Matthew Lysaght emails: “I would rather have William Prunier than Ayden Heaven at this stage.”
20 mins: Soule fumes at Fernandes for United not kicking the ball out for an injury. The Argentinian gets up in the United captain’s face and they both get booked. Poor refereeing.
18 mins: Dalot gives the ball away in pathetic fashion in his own half and it looks like Roma are in for a third but Heaven puts in a last-ditch tackle.
Jason Wilcox, why didn’t you sign a backup left-back?
I was anticipating a day off tomorrow but that is rapidly going out of the window.
GOAL! Manchester United 0-2 Roma (Malen, 18)
No mistake from the spot as he sends Lammens the wrong way.
16 mins: PENALTY! Heaven is penalised for blocking a shot with his arm. It all came from Dalot being a mile out of position again.
Roma have scored 28 goals in 10 Serie A games this season. United may need to worry here based on their utterly woeful defending.
14 mins: United come back at Roma through Fernandes down the right and his cross goes along the six-yard line before Mancini clears, a split second ahead of Cunha meeting the ball.
Joshua Keeling emails: “How much space?! Where was Dalot?! Outstanding work, United.”
GOAL! United lose the ball in their own half and Roma move at speed, with Mora ping a pass from left to right where Soule is awaiting, helped by Dalot being dreadfully out of position. He gives Lammens the eyes and finds the bottom corner.
GOAL! Manchester United 0-1 Roma (Soule, 11)
United are found at the back and Soule does the rest.
10 mins: Maguire pings a long ball over the top for Fernandes to chase but it lacks the requisite direction and Roma mop up.
Fernandes, Cunha and Mbeumo seem to be rotating the role of false 9 at the moment, which is a bold move.
8 mins: Malen looks to do some damage on the edge of the United box but is quickly crowded out and the hosts clear the ball upfield.
6 mins: Diallo is eager to get on the ball in the early stages. There is positivity around the team and a little more energy that we’ve seen recently. They need the crowd behind them and they are doing their job.
David Flynn emails: “Nuno wouldn’t fit the bill anyway, it’s experimental European iPad manager next, followed by former player with no managerial experience. So whoever is the Ajax under 18s coach at the moment, then Lee Sharpe.”
4 mins: United survive the first two minutes without conceded, so that’s a good start.
Diallo and Cunha combine on the right but the former’s cross is easily blocked.
2 mins: The United back four is (from left to right) Yoro, Maguire, Heaven, Dalot. Good luck, lads.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players hold a minute’s silence for the Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel died after a collision with the Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono during a match in the second division.
The players are heading out onto the pitch.
“We want Glazers out” comes the chant from the Stretford End.
Plenty of green and gold balloons in the away end as the fans make a point against the owners. The fans want the Glazers out and they are not particularly enamoured with Sir Jim. Two home losses this week will ramp up the toxicity at Old Trafford.
United have conceded in the opening two minutes in their past two Champions League games. Anything better than that would be a boost.
The players are cheered off after the warmup, which is a start.
Elsewhere …
Can United impress Barney Ronay ?
Time to get warm.
Michael Carrick: “A big challenge, it’s what you expect. They’ve had a very good start to the season. We want to be in this competition to challenge ourselves against good teams. It’s a big night for us.
“We have to pick a team, we’ve got good players. We’ve made a decision for tonight.
“We’ve got some really good midfielders with different strengths. We think it’s a good time to put Kobbie back in with the attributes him and Baleba have.”
Gorton-born Butt on TV and another one on the blog. A big day for east Manchester. Both quite critical of United at the moment.
Gene Salorio asks: “So now that Nuno is back on the market, does he get a ticket to the Manchester United new manager sweepstakes?”
NO!
Ashley Young suggests if Michael Carrick is forced out, then Jason Wilcox should go too.
Something I have suggested, too, and being on this blog is mainly about promoting your own work.
The great John Brewin wrote about how Manchester United have become unmanageable.
Busby and Ferguson built the club around themselves, possessing the charisma to convince others that theirs was the path to follow. Carrick, an insider, a club man, is falling victim to the same isolation as his predecessors in failure. Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martínez going off-piste in TV interviews to depth charge Carrick were actually following club tradition. With glamour comes decadence, the faded grandeur that has so often chased a United manager out the door.
Bit of fun among the team news … Martinez is dropped, allowing us all to guess how the United back four will start off. I feel Yoro deserves a go at centre-back but I will almost certainly be wrong.
Roma are giving a debut to third-choice goalkeeper Devis Vásquez, who is a 28-year-old who once had a loan at Sheffield Wednesday.
Starting lineups
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Heaven; Baleba, Mainoo; Diallo, Cunha, Fernandes; Mbeumo
Subs: Darlow, Heaton, Amass, De Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui, Santos, Mount, T Fletcher, Tielemans, Lacey, Zirkzee
Roma (3-4–2-1): Vazquez; Mancini, Balerdi, Hermoso; Rensch, Cristante, De Roon, Wesley; Soule, Rodrigo Mora; Malen
Subs: De Marzi, Koulierakis, N’Dicka, Castro, Molina, Pisilli, Di Nunzio, Lulli, Ghilardi
Ayden Heaven was put up for the pre-match interview – don’t worry he did not say anything on note. The Amazon pundits are perplexed that the young defender forced to face the cameras, with Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney wanting someone more senior to take responsibility.
Roma sit one place above Como in Serie A, which should worry United.
I went to see Michael Carrick yesterday for a bit of knockabout fun.
Preamble
Is this the day Manchester United finally turn their season around and save Michael Carrick’s job? Probably not. The manager is eagerly looking forward to this game despite not winning in nine, sitting 17th in the Premier League and coming into this clash with Roma off the back of two Champions League defeats. Life is not easy for Carrick because he has not fit left-back nor a decent striker available to him, so what can Big Sir Jim really expect?
Carrick, if we are being honest, has until the final whistle on Sunday – when Aston Villa are in town – to show he can lead United forward. Anything other than two wins this week will almost certainly seal his fate. There were promising signs against Chelsea but that soon unravelled.
At the very least, Carrick fronts up amid the misery. Those above him say absolutely nothing but must also fear for their futures after a desperate season thus far.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT
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