Manchester United fans are singing the praises of their heroes after a stunning win against Liverpool at Anfield, with Rio Ferdinand looking away from the goalscorers for his praise.
Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire will justifiably get the headlines for their direct impact on the game, but a win like that doesn’t come through just two players.
From Matthijs de Ligt dominating everything in sight to Bruno Fernandes making the difference when it mattered, it was a game full of heroes.
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In such a game, Rio Ferdinand picked out a player who’s not getting many plaudits, but one who is well on his way to becoming ‘unplayable’.
Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw and Matheus Cunha of Manchester United celebrate the 1-2 victory at full time during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on October 19, 2025
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand raves about ‘magnificent’ Matheus Cunha
Those who judge players based on raw stats will look at Matheus Cunha and write him off as a failure, for he is yet to score for Man Utd.
However, those who watch United games and see Cunha in action know how much of a difference the Brazilian has made to this side.
Against Liverpool, he played in a thankless striker role where the team was never going to involve him much, but what he did was priceless.
Whenever he got on the ball, he regularly drove forward with it and pushed United up the pitch to relieve the pressure on the defence.
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When United were hanging onto their lead in injury time, he won fouls with his skills, and his game-management nous was world-class.
It didn’t miss the eye of a seasoned veteran like Rio Ferdinand, who gave Cunha his flowers.
He said: “Cunha, I thought, was magnificent. I think as the game went on as well, especially when we needed someone to kind of give us a bit of time and really respite, he was that guy. I just think he’s a wonderful footballer. Once he gets into full flow, I think he’s going to be almost unplayable at times.”
Matheus Cunha has been exactly as advertised
Cunha obviously hasn’t troubled the scoring sheet, but Ruben Amorim and Ineos will be delighted because he has been exactly as advertised.
His ball-carrying ability and his nature of wanting to take responsibility when things aren’t going well attracted United towards him.
Both of those traits have been clearly visible, with Cunha not shirking when the pressure is on him, and regularly driving United up the pitch with his dribbling.
He is the profile of a player United were sorely missing from their squad, and the difference when he doesn’t play is night and day.
As Ferdinand says, once he breaks that scoring duck and gets the confidence to finish in front of the goal, he will be unplayable, because he’s been remarkable without doing so.
The ceiling is tantalising, because the floor is already high enough as it is.