CHAMPIONS LEAGUE · OLD TRAFFORD
CUNHA'S CRAZY FOUR MINUTES SAVE CARRICK
Two down and booed off at half-time, United storm back to beat Roma, then their hero is sent off
MANCHESTER UNITED 3 (Bruno Fernandes 58 pen, Matheus Cunha 83, 86) AS ROMA 2 (Matias Soule 11, Donyell Malen 17 pen)
For 45 minutes Old Trafford looked like the end of something. By the final whistle it had seen one of the great Champions League nights, and Michael Carrick was still standing.
Manchester United were two down to Roma inside 17 minutes. Matías Soulé finished an opener that, in Carrick's words, "came from nowhere", and Donyell Malen made it two from the penalty spot. United were booed off at half-time, and Sky Sports judged the setup "arguably even worse than against Como", with Diogo Dalot up the pitch and Ayden Heaven repeatedly exposed down the left.
“This place does magical things, it's done it before and it'll do it over and over again at some point in the future.”
It got worse before it got better. Carlos Baleba pulled up with a hamstring injury early in the second half. Then Matheus Cunha won a penalty, and Bruno Fernandes, made to take it twice, scored the retake on 58 minutes. "For Bruno to double take that penalty, to have the mentality and finish like that, he deserves a lot of credit," Carrick said.
Bryan Mbeumo hit both posts with a single shot, Roma cleared one off the line and United had two more penalty appeals as the side unbeaten in Serie A began to wobble. On 83 minutes Leonardo Balerdi's woeful clearance fell to Cunha, who slotted in the equaliser. Three minutes later the Brazilian finished at the near post from Shea Lacey's pass and tore off his shirt in front of the fans. That earned him a yellow card.
In stoppage time a late challenge on Balerdi brought a second, and Cunha was off. BBC Sport's figures make him the first United player to score and be sent off in the same Champions League game. At the final whistle he tried to join the celebrations, and the Manchester Evening News reports that Carrick steered him back towards the tunnel.
"I spoke at half-time about being positive. Anything can happen here. I've seen it many times over the years," Carrick told UEFA. "The boys were fantastic second half. They kept going, didn't get disappointed and got exactly what they deserved in the end."
He would not get carried away. "I don't have a crystal ball to know what happens next. We move on to the weekend. We've got a really important game here against Aston Villa." Of Lacey he said: "He has got that little glint in his eyes, he plays with a bit of mischief if you like."
Fernandes, who was benched against Bournemouth after criticising his manager, spoke about it. "We don't need to save anyone's job. The club needed that win, the players needed that win," he said. "The manager is the one who makes the decisions.