Cunha double completes Manchester United comeback against Roma

Manchester United ended a nine-match winless run by recovering from 2-0 down to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday. BBC Sport reported that the second-half turnaround eased pressure on manager Michael Carrick, with captain Bruno Fernandes helping launch the recovery at Old Trafford.

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Roma had established their advantage before the interval through Matías Soulé and a Donyell Malen penalty, according to the Guardian's match report. Soulé finished after Rodrigo Mora found him in space, while Malen converted after a shot struck Ayden Heaven's hand. United then reduced the deficit through Fernandes, whose initial penalty was saved by Devis Vásquez before a retake was ordered for encroachment.

Matheus Cunha supplied the two goals that completed the comeback. The Guardian reported that he capitalised on an error by Leonardo Balerdi for his first, then scored the winner after receiving a pass from substitute Shea Lacey. His evening ended with a dismissal, however: a challenge on Balerdi brought a second yellow card in the 90th minute, leaving United to finish without their match-winner.

Speaking to Amazon Prime afterwards, Fernandes rejected the suggestion that the players' task was to protect Carrick's position. In comments carried by BBC Sport, he said the victory was needed by both the club and the squad, and maintained his belief in the manager, coaching staff and fellow players despite the difficult run.

Fernandes was addressing the media for the first time since being benched after criticising Carrick's tactics following the 4-1 defeat at Como. He had returned to the starting side against Chelsea. The captain said Carrick controlled selection decisions and attributed his omission to his performances, while disputing accounts of the relationship between them.

The result added another United home victory to a fixture with a substantial European history. UEFA's pre-match records showed United had won all four previous Old Trafford meetings with Roma. Those included the 7-1 Champions League quarter-final victory in 2007, when Carrick scored twice, and the 6-2 Europa League semi-final first-leg win in 2021, when Fernandes also contributed two goals.