United storms back from 0-2 down to beat Roma 3-2 as Cunha scores twice

Manchester United found themselves down 0-2 inside 16 minutes at Old Trafford, and it looked like Roma would cruise to all three points without much trouble. But Michael Carrick's side fought back in the second half and ended up winning 3-2, with a late brace from Matheus Cunha turning the night completely on its head.

Roma, coached by Gian Piero Gasperini, came out of the gates devastating. In the 10th minute, Matias Soule finished with his left foot from the center of the box after an assist from Rodrigo Mora to make it 0-1. Six minutes later came the second: a penalty conceded by Ayden Heaven for a handball inside the area, and Donyell Malen made no mistake from the spot to put Roma up 0-2. United went into the break trailing by that scoreline, even after a Soule effort crashed off the post right at the end of the first half.

The second-half response

The match turned on its head in the 54th minute, when Gianluca Mancini brought down Matheus Cunha inside the box. VAR reviewed the play and confirmed the penalty, and Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot in the 57th minute to make it 1-2 and drag United back into the match.

From there, United laid siege to Roma's goal. Bryan Mbeumo rattled the post with a shot, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot both tested the keeper with headers off corners, but the equalizer didn't come until the 82nd minute, when Matheus Cunha finished with his right foot from close range to make it 2-2. Three minutes later, in the 85th minute, Cunha struck again, this time set up by Shea Lacey, to complete his brace and put United up 3-2 for good. United finished the match a man down, as Cunha picked up a second yellow card in the 90th minute for a dangerous play, with the result already decided by then.

What the numbers say

United's dominance was reflected in the match statistics, though Roma knew how to strike in its moments:

According to our xG estimate calculated from the match's shots, United generated 2.32 expected goals to Roma's 1.32, a gap that backs up the comeback even though the final score ended up tighter than those numbers suggest.

Before the match, our projection gave Manchester United a 44% chance of winning, a 25% chance of a draw and a 31% chance of a Roma win, with combined expected goals of 3.29 (1.79 for United and 1.50 for Roma). The final result, a 3-2 win with United overturning a two-goal deficit, ended up matching the edge we gave the home side, though the path to get there was far more dramatic than any numbers could have predicted.

What the result means

In the Champions League standings, the win leaves Manchester United with 6 points in the competition, while Roma sits on 4 points after the loss. Just two points separate the two sides, who came into this matchup in nearby positions in a table that remains very tight. For United, the comeback snaps a run of poor results; for Roma, the blow stings even more given they had the match well in hand after the first two goals. Matheus Cunha leaves as the big story of the night, though he'll be watching the next match from the stands after his stoppage-time red card.