Manchester United survive controversy as Cunha brace sinks Roma
Matheus Cunha's late double completed a stunning turnaround for Manchester United against Roma, but Italian media focused their anger on a contentious penalty and a missed red card for Harry Maguire.
Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the Champions League, with Matheus Cunha scoring twice in the space of under three minutes to complete the turnaround before he was sent off in stoppage time, Opta's The Analyst reported.
Roma led 2-0 inside 17 minutes through Matías Soulé and Donyell Malen, and the Guardian's David Hytner wrote that the scoreline at that stage "greatly flattered" a United side that had been "implausibly bad" amid continued fan anger toward the club's ownership.
How Roma carved United open twice
Roma's opener came from a swift transition: Rodrigo Mora switched play to find Soulé unmarked, and the winger took a touch before slotting into the bottom corner, according to The Analyst.
The second goal followed a defensive error rather than a structured move. Harry Maguire gifted the ball to Soulé inside the box, and although Ayden Heaven threw himself into a last-ditch block, he made contact with an outstretched arm. Malen converted the resulting penalty, sending Senne Lammens the wrong way.
Roma continued to threaten before the break, with Malen seeing a low effort saved and Soulé striking the outside of the post, underlining how comfortably the visitors controlled the opening 45 minutes.
Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the penalty spot before the interval, but it was Carrick's second-half changes and Cunha's intervention that turned the tie, even as United lost Carlos Baleba to a hamstring injury shortly after the restart.
The penalty that divided opinion
United's route back into the match hinged on a second penalty, awarded after what Opta described as a clumsy tangle between Gianluca Mancini and Cunha. Fernandes' first attempt was saved by debutant goalkeeper Devis Vásquez, but referee Jesús Gil Manzano ordered a retake after Bryan Cristante was judged to have encroached into the box — a decision Football Italia's Lorenzo Bettoni noted came down to centimetres, with Cristante's foot on the edge of the area as Fernandes struck the ball.
Italian outlets Corriere dello Sport, Tuttosport and Gazzetta dello Sport all described the original penalty award as "very soft," pointing to contact between Cunha's foot and Mancini's knee inside the Roma box. Corriere argued Gil Manzano penalised Mancini for what it called negligence, while also acknowledging that the opposite reading — that Cunha himself had caught the Italian defender's knee by lifting his foot — was equally defensible.
Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante echoed that scepticism afterwards, saying his side "must improve" while branding the Manchester United penalty "very doubtful," per Football Italia.
Italian media also argued Maguire should have seen red in the second half, adding a further layer to the complaints directed at the Spanish referee's performance, though the only dismissal on the night in the end went to Cunha, shown a stoppage-time red card after his match-winning contribution.
What the comeback means for Carrick
The result arrives with Carrick's position under scrutiny. Opta's reporting framed the win as arriving with "pressure mounting" on the manager at half-time, after his team had fallen two goals behind inside 17 minutes against a Roma side that, by the Guardian's account, had been the superior team for long stretches.
Cunha's double, converted in rapid succession, did more than complete the scoreline — it gave Carrick a result his side's first-half performance had not come close to earning. The manner of the comeback will not erase the questions raised by that opening period, nor the Italian press's objections to the officiating, but it does hand United a Champions League win their recent run had not produced.
Roma, for their part, leave Old Trafford having led for most of the match and with a legitimate grievance over the penalty decision that shifted the contest, a complaint Cristante made plain in his post-match remarks.
Sources
- Football Italia: Man United vs Roma referee slammed over soft penalty and potential Maguire red card
- The Analyst (Opta): Manchester United 3-2 Roma Stats: Late Cunha Brace Completes Stunning Turnaround
- Guardian European football: Manchester United produce comeback for the ages as Cunha double floors Roma