Roma's two-goal cushion vanishes again as Manchester United fight back at Old Trafford
Roma led Manchester United 2-0 at half-time through a slick press-and-counter display, but a makeshift defence and a late Matheus Cunha double meant another Champions League lead slipped away, Football Italia reported.
Roma built a two-goal lead against Manchester United inside 18 minutes at Old Trafford on Tuesday, then let it slip in a 3-2 defeat that extended a troubling pattern in Europe this season, according to Football Italia.
The Giallorossi had been forced into late changes before kick-off. Pierluigi Gollini injured his back hours before the game, and with Mile Svilar, Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini already unavailable, third-choice goalkeeper Devis Vasquez made his club debut between the posts, Football Italia reported.
Manchester United arrived without a win since September 10 and had lost their previous three matches, including a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Como. Lenny Yoro returned from suspension, but Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu, Marcus Rashford, Manuel Ugarte and Luke Shaw remained out.
A high press turned into a fast start
Roma's opener came directly from their pressing structure. Football Italia described how the team's high press forced a midfield error from United, which Rodrigo Mora converted into a defence-splitting pass for Matías Soulé to finish past Sam Lammens.
That sequence set the tone for a first half built on transition. Roma repeatedly won the ball high and attacked space in behind before United's back line could reset, a pattern that produced the second goal as well.
Donyell Malen doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Soulé was fouled by Heaven while clear through on goal, converting by sending Lammens the wrong way. Roma should have scored a third shortly after, but Malen's heavy first touch denied him a clean chance in behind.
The game turned on a retaken penalty
United's route back into the match began with misfortune rather than design. Carlos Baleba, dangerous on the counter all evening, suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half and had to be replaced in visible distress.
United were awarded a penalty soon after when Matheus Cunha went down under contact from Gianluca Mancini. Bruno Fernandes saw his first attempt saved by Vasquez, but the goalkeeper's clearance of the rebound was disallowed after Bryan Cristante was judged to have encroached, and Fernandes converted at the second attempt to make it 2-1.
The retake mattered beyond the scoreline. It gave United belief at a moment when Roma had controlled territory, and Georges Mbeumo almost levelled minutes later when his shot struck one post, rolled along the line and came back off the other.
Set pieces and a defensive error undid Roma's lead
Roma's back line, reshuffled after Devyne Rensch went off injured in the first half for Emanuele Lulli, had to survive a spell of sustained pressure built on corners. Wesley made a goal-line clearance to deny a Harry Maguire header, and Cristante produced another off the line to stop Diogo Dalot from close range.
Leonardo Balerdi had made a series of strong tackles through the match, which made his mistake for United's equaliser more costly. A scuffed clearance from the Argentine fell straight to Cunha inside the Roma box, and he finished for 2-2, Football Italia reported.
The winning goal followed the exact shape of a result Roma had already suffered this season. Football Italia noted that Roma had thrown away a 3-1 lead against Real Madrid in the space of seven minutes earlier in the campaign, and the collapse against United followed a similar script. Cunha ran onto a through ball from Lacey and beat Vasquez at the near post for his second of the night.
Cunha's night ended early. He was booked for removing his shirt in celebration, then picked up a second yellow card for a lunge on Balerdi in stoppage time, leaving United to see out the final minutes with ten men already assured of victory.
What the collapse says about Roma's control
Roma dominated the opening half through a coherent plan: press high, win the ball in dangerous areas, and attack the space United's thin squad could not cover. That approach produced two clean goals and a missed third chance that would have ended the contest.
What unravelled it was a mixture of injury disruption, a refereeing reversal on the penalty, and a individual error from a defender who had otherwise played well. None of those factors alone explains the result, but together they describe a team that could not protect a lead once the game's rhythm shifted in United's favour.
Roma next need to address why a two-goal advantage has twice evaporated inside a matter of minutes in this competition. The underlying attacking and pressing quality was evident again at Old Trafford; converting first-half control into a result that lasts 90 minutes remains the unresolved problem.