**Manchester United completed a magical comeback after being two goals down in the first half against Roma to give Michael Carrick a lifeline, with Matheus Cunha scoring twice before being sent off.**
Roma took quick-fire action in the first half, as Argentinian forward Matias Soulé’s low driven shot flew past Senne Lammens, before Donyell Malen sent the Belgian goalkeeper the wrong way to make it two early and mute Old Trafford.
Manchester United flipped the game in the second half, as they had a penalty of their own when Matheus Cunha was fouled in the box, which was converted by captain Bruno Fernandes.
The Brazilian forward’s footprint was all over the comeback with a brace, firstly scoring where he capitalised on Balerdi’s failure to clear the ball to convert from close range, and then a thunderous strike to beat Devis Vásquez in style, scoring an 83rd-minute winner.
Despite the winner, two yellow cards in quick succession from the scorer of the winner had him dismissed in the closing minutes of the game.
Yet Carrick’s men held out from Roma’s pressure to secure a very important win to end their nine-game winless streak and three points in the Champions League league phase to climb up to 17th.
Before kick-off, a minute of silence was held in tribute to the tragic death of CD Tenerife footballer Jesús De Miguel following a collision during a match against Andorra.
Manchester United’s defence were pierced through just 11 minutes into the game after Kobbie Mainoo was dispossessed in the midfield, before Portuguese teenager Rodrigo Mora found Matías Soulé through a measured diagonal ball in acres of space to set himself and coolly convert past Senne Lammens to silence Old Trafford.
It was an absolute disaster for Michael Carrick’s side five minutes later when they conceded a penalty due to the ball hitting Ayden Heaven’s arm, blocking Soulé’s shot from the same area as his first unmarked goal. Donyell Malen’s red-hot form continued this season with eight goals in Serie A as he made it his fourth goal in the Champions League with a composed penalty to send the Belgian goalkeeper the wrong way and extend their lead by two.
Although the home side tried to get back into the game in the first half, they lacked real quality in the final ball and action. When the whistle blew for half-time, boos rang around the stadium, conveying the dissatisfied, angry state the Mancunian supporters are in this season.
At the start of the second-half, Manchester United were finally able to open up the Roma defence as Carlos Baleba galloped through on goal.
But just when he was about to cross the ball, he pulled up with a suspected hamstring injury, which ironically summed up United’s situation, as Youri Tielemans was substituted on for the Cameroonian.
A potential lifeline for United occurred when Fernandes cleverly played Cunha through before being tripped up by Gianluca Mancini, which was confirmed after a lengthy VAR review.
As the suspense built, Manchester United’s captain was denied by Devis Vásquez the first time; however, after a review, encroachment was spotted from Roma players, so the Portuguese midfielder made sure to hammer it home on the second attempt to plot for a comeback.
That goal injected some belief and energy into Carrick’s men as straight away they were on the attack and nearly found the back of the net from Cunha’s through ball to Mbeumo, who was through on goal, shot past a helpless Vásquez but was denied by both goalposts before Roma cleared their lines.
A defensive blunder from Balerdi was fatal as he completely missed the ball to clear away Bruno’s cross from danger, but Cunha was there to ghost into the box and capitalise to fire past the keeper to equalise.
The Brazilian Number 10. completely imposed himself on the game in the second-half, as it was him who fired home the winner with a powerful shot off the post, as he jumped into the home crowd in relief.
Naturally, he lost himself in the celebrations, taking off his shirt to receive a yellow card, and then minutes later receiving a red card after a second yellow card offence for a late foul.
Manchester United ended the game with 10 men but held on from Roma’s pressure for a nervy ending but ultimately won the game in spectacular fashion. Whatever Michael Carrick told his team at halftime worked tremendously, and that win has to be the start of winning form for the underperforming United side to turn their dreadful start to the season around.