Manchester United came from two goals down to defeat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League league phase, according to LiveScore. The result ended a nine-match run without a win for the English club.
Matheus Cunha scored the equaliser and the winner for United, while Bruno Fernandes pulled the first goal back from the penalty spot. The victory lifted United to six points and 17th place in the European standings. Roma remain on four points in 19th.
Why it matters
The win was United's first since they beat Turkey's Sabah 4-0 in the opening round of the competition. Across the nine games that followed, they drew three and lost six, a sequence that had left them near the bottom of the league phase table.
LiveScore described the comeback as carrying "a Real Madrid flavour," a reference to the Spanish side's own recovery against Roma in the second round. Real Madrid trailed 3-1 in that match before winning 4-3, and have won every game since, including the Clásico against Barcelona. United will be hoping their own turnaround has a similar effect on their season.
The manner of the win may matter as much as the points. United were two goals behind inside 17 minutes and did not score until shortly before the hour mark, but they completed the recovery inside the final ten minutes of normal time.
How the comeback unfolded
Roma made the stronger start. In the 11th minute, Argentina's Matías Soulé got away from United goalkeeper Senne Lammens and finished with a left-footed strike to open the scoring. Six minutes later, the Netherlands' Donyell Malen converted a penalty past the Belgian goalkeeper to double the visitors' advantage.
United's response came in the 58th minute, when Fernandes scored a penalty to reduce the gap to one. The equaliser arrived in the 83rd minute. Fernandes delivered a cross that a Roma defender misjudged, and Cunha was on hand to level the match.
Three minutes later, Cunha struck again. He broke clear down the right and beat the Roma goalkeeper with a powerful shot to put United ahead for the first time.
Cunha was sent off in stoppage time, but United held on with ten men to secure the win.
What to watch
United's next fixtures will show whether the result marks the start of a sustained recovery or a single bright night in a difficult campaign. Roma, meanwhile, stay in 19th place and will need points quickly to climb the league phase table.
