Cunha scored twice and was sent off, and Manchester United came from 2-0 down to beat Roma
Roma led 2-0 inside 17 minutes at Old Trafford. A retaken Bruno Fernandes penalty and two late Matheus Cunha goals gave United their first win in ten games, and Cunha still found time to get a red card.
Nov 4, 2026
Manchester United were booed off at half-time at Old Trafford on Tuesday, two goals down to Roma and heading for a tenth game without a win. Forty-five minutes later Matheus Cunha had scored twice in three minutes to win it 3-2, and then got himself sent off before the final whistle.
It was United’s first win in ten matches in all competitions. Michael Carrick, whose future has been the main story at the club for weeks, got the result he needed. He also got a striker who will miss the next Champions League game.
Two down inside 17 minutes
Roma were ahead after 11 minutes. Kobbie Mainoo lost the ball in midfield, Rodrigo Mora found Matías Soulé with a diagonal pass, and Soulé beat Senne Lammens. Six minutes later Soulé shot again, the ball struck Ayden Heaven’s arm, and Donyell Malen sent Lammens the wrong way from the spot.
That is how it stayed until the break, and the home crowd let United know what they thought of it. Things got worse early in the second half when Carlos Baleba pulled a hamstring and was replaced by Youri Tielemans.
A retaken penalty and a late turnaround
The way back started with Cunha. Gianluca Mancini brought him down in the box, and Bruno Fernandes’s penalty was saved by Devis Vásquez. The referee, Jesús Gil Manzano, ordered a retake because Roma players had encroached, and Fernandes made no mistake second time round. It was 2-1 after 58 minutes.
United had chances to level long before they did. Bryan Mbeumo hit both posts with one shot, and Roma cleared another effort off the line. The equaliser came in the 83rd minute, when Leonardo Balerdi missed his clearance of a Fernandes cross and Cunha scored from close range.
Three minutes after that, Shea Lacey cut in from the right and slipped a pass through to Cunha, who finished at Vásquez’s near post.
Then Cunha lost his head
Cunha took his shirt off and went towards the crowd after the winner, and was booked for it. In the first minute of stoppage time he slid in late on Balerdi, got a second yellow and left United to see out the game with ten men. They did. At the final whistle Carrick appeared to tell him to go straight to the dressing room, and Cunha did not look happy about being led away. A sending-off in UEFA competition carries an automatic one-match ban, so he misses United’s next Champions League game.
Carrick kept it simple afterwards. “I spoke at half-time about being positive. Anything can happen here, I’ve seen it many times over the years,” he said. On his own future he would not be drawn: “I don’t have a crystal ball to know what happens next.”
Six points and a bit of breathing room
The win takes United to six points from four league-phase games. Roma, who had lost only once in the Champions League before this, 4-3 at home to Real Madrid, stay on four.
I’m not sure one night changes much for Carrick. United are still in the bottom half of the Premier League, the international break is close, and they needed a retaken penalty and a defender’s miskick to turn this round. Still, a team that had gone nine games without a win was booed off at half-time and came out and won it. That has not happened much at Old Trafford this autumn.