Manchester United 3-2 Roma: Cunha's late brace ends winless run but questions remain

Manchester United's 3-2 victory over Roma at Old Trafford on 3 November was the kind of night that can briefly silence a crisis. Two goals down at half-time, booed off by their own supporters, United recovered through a Bruno Fernandes penalty and a late Matheus Cunha brace to end a nine-match winless run. The win was wild, improbable, and deeply welcome. Whether it was a turning point is another matter entirely.

The raw numbers tell a more encouraging story than the first-half performance might suggest. United registered 15 shots to Roma's seven, generated 2.70 expected goals against 1.60, and had six shots on target to the visitors' four. They also recorded 30 touches in the opposition box, well above their average of 19.2 across earlier 2026/27 matches in all competitions. Their expected goals figure of 2.70 dwarfed their previous average of 1.06, and open-play expected goals of 1.51 was similarly elevated against an average of 0.91.

Those figures point to a side that created chances at a rate it had not managed for much of the season. But the first half was a different matter. United went in at the break two goals down and were booed off. The comeback, when it came, was built on a penalty and two late strikes rather than sustained control. Chance creation rose materially after half-time, but the question of why it took a two-goal deficit to provoke that response remains unanswered.

The result eases immediate pressure on Michael Carrick, whose position was reported to be under review during the international break. United sit 17th in the Premier League with seven points from nine games, a stark contrast to their 2025/26 league record under Carrick of 12 wins, three draws and two defeats from 17 matches, a return of 2.29 points per game. This season's equivalent figure is 0.78 points per game from nine matches. The gap between those two windows is the central fact of United's campaign.

The summer brought Carlos Baleba, Cristian Orozco, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos into the squad, while Toby Collyer, Casemiro, Louis Jackson, Tyler Fredricson, Radek Vítek and Rasmus Højlund departed. That turnover helps explain why the balance of last season has not returned, though it does not fully account for the scale of the drop.

Baleba suffered a hamstring injury early in the second half and was replaced by Tielemans in the 51st minute. Carrick said afterwards that it "initially doesn't look great", and the club will assess the damage. With the international break approaching, the timing is unwelcome.

Before the match, fans protested against the Glazers with green and gold balloons and tennis balls thrown onto the field in the 21st minute. The atmosphere around the club remains volatile. A comeback win against Roma does not change that on its own. What it does is buy Carrick time, and time is what United need if the process behind this performance is to become a pattern rather than an outlier. The next matches will answer whether it was a turning point or a temporary reprieve.