Man Utd 3-2 Roma: Matheus Cunha scores two and is sent off in wild comeback to end nine-game winless run

Manchester United produced an extraordinary comeback from two down to beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford and pick up their first win in 10 games.

Michael Carrick looked on the brink when his disjointed team were completely undone for Matias Soule’s opener and Donyell Malen soon made it two from the penalty spot. But Matheus Cunha won one of his own, scored two and was sent off in a wild contest.

United had been booed off at the break and when Carlos Baleba had to go off early in the second half with a hamstring injury it all looked dismal for United. But when Cunha won a penalty that Bruno Fernandes scored after a retake it altered the momentum.

Bryan Mbeumo struck both posts with one shot soon after and the noise inside Old Trafford was astonishing thereafter. Roma cleared one off the line and United had two more penalty shouts as the Italian side – unbeaten in Serie A – began to wobble badly.

Leonardo Balerdi’s error proved it, his woeful clearance allowing Cunha to slot home the leveller. And it was the same player with a stunning near-post finish from Shea Lacey’s pass who completed the comeback to the delight of the disbelieving crowd.

Cunha was sent off for a silly foul to ensure a tense finale but United held on for a first win in 54 days. Improbably, Carrick left the pitch not just to applause but having presided over a win in the Champions League. And a spirited one at that.

Analysis: A comeback from nowhere

Where on earth did that come from? Roma were two up and it could have been more against a United side whose spirit appeared as broken as their tactics in a first half that seemed like surrender. But strange things can still happen at the Theatre of Dreams.

It is difficult to overstate the incoherence of those opening minutes. Watching Fernandes throw his arms in the air in disgust at a Baleba pass late in the first half, it looked like a team in disarray and desperate to blame someone else for the situation.

United’s tactical setup early on against Roma was arguably even worse than against Como when Fernandes criticised his manager. They were continually cut apart in the left-back position with Diogo Dalot up the pitch and Ayden Heaven exposed.

At that stage, thought turned to the balance of the squad and the quality of it, the confidence and the team spirit, the players, the coach and the ownership. None of that completely goes away after a chaotic 45 minutes but this was at least something.

It was a team telling the fans that they can show spirit, that they are not prepared to let it slide further without a fight, that they can still conjure quality from nowhere. The scenes at the end of the game showed that at this great club, sometimes, that can be enough.

Fernandes opens up on Carrick situation

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes speaking to Amazon Prime:

“Fans want to win games, they’ve been used to seeing this club at the top, winning trophies, winning games every week. For them it’s been so frustrating to see the club in this situation.

“I just want to make everyone aware that we’re all frustrated with the situation at the moment and we all want to get out of this. Hopefully this win today gives the start of something good for us.

“It has been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media, a lot of lies around many things that have happened in this club. Between me and the manager, that we had cleared the air, then after, nothing of that happened.

“The manager took a decision of putting myself on the bench [against Bournemouth] because I wasn’t performing at that level. Everyone felt that that was a punishment for the words that I had. If it was, it was right.

“The manager is the one that makes the decisions. I have to accept them, I have to go forward with that. It doesn’t change the belief I have in the manager, in the staff and every player that is in this club.

“It doesn’t change my aim to win every game that I have ahead of me. It should be [a turning point].”

Carrick praises Lacey on ‘important night’

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick speaking in the press conference:

“Proud of a lot of people actually, proud of the players, and they deserve a lot of credit for pulling through that in a tough situation.

“And for the supporters, you know, to be there, they were desperate for us to give them something they could get their teeth into.

“I think it is really important for the players to know what this place can do.

“I am not getting too carried away with things, but it is an important night.”

On the impact of Shea Lacey with his assist for the winning goal:

“Again, not going too over the top, but at the same time, absolutely delighted for Shea. We love him to bits. He is a great young man.

“He is desperate to do well, he has got great ability, so in terms of coming inside and finding a pass, that is not surprising actually, he has got that little glint in his eyes, he plays with a bit of mischief if you like.

“So it is always lovely to have that, but I was just as happy seeing him defending as a right-back when we needed that.

“And then in the moments when he is without the football, you have got to be able to do that, so I was just as pleased to see him do that on the defensive side.”