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Cunha's 8 unhinged minutes deliver Man United a much-needed comeback win

Matheus Cunha. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Matheus Cunha's 8 unhinged minutes deliver Manchester United a much-needed comeback win

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Nov 3, 2026 6:17 PM ET

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Manchester United attacker Matheus Cunha had a busy eight minutes against Roma in the Champions League. Between the 83rd and 91st minutes, Cunha delivered the kind of bravura performance that stands the test of time: a dumb goal, a brilliant goal and one of the silliest red cards you'll ever see.

Call it the connoisseur's hat trick. Call it the Cunha special. Call it what you want, but don't forget to call it what it was: eight minutes of madness that delivered flatlining United its first win in 10 games.

83 minutes: the dumb goal

United struggled mightily in its first half against Roma. It conceded two quick goals — the first a simple finish from Matias Soulé, the second a converted penalty from Donyell Malen — in the opening 20 minutes and appeared well-beaten before the halftime whistle blew. Roma entered the second half full of confidence.

That confidence might not have been warranted. Roma built up a 3-0 lead in its last Champions League fixture against Real Madrid and still managed to lose the match 4-3. As Roma relaxed its play and United intensified its own, the match's momentum began to swing firmly in the Red Devils's favor. Captain Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty in the 58th minute to narrow the scoreline to 2-1; defender Harry Maguire, one of Europe's best set piece targets, very nearly scored on two separate United corner kick routines.

United's equalizing breakthrough came through open play. Fernandes picked up possession on United's left flank and drilled a seeking cross into the penalty box. Roma defender Leonardo Balerdi was there to clear it away, but in hilarious, near-unscriptable fashion, he kicked over the ball rather than through it. The cross bounced under his leg and found Cunha wide open on the far post; it was the work of a moment for Cunha to bury it.

@tudn_usa
¡Qué locura de partido! ¡Goool del United!
♬ sonido original - TUDN USA

Was Cunha in the right place to make it happen? Absolutely. But the goal was the direct result of Balerdi's Looney Tunes-style swing-and-miss error, and that made it doubly joyous for United. For once, some other team was delivering the slapstick comedy.

86 minutes: the brilliant goal

Cunha's second goal was as incredible as his first was silly. United's 19-year-old prospect Shea Lacey found him in the penalty box from the right flank; from there, Cunha's first touch pushed the ball out of reach of Roma's defenders and freed him up space at the near post. Cunha charged onto the ball and let fly with a first-time hit that sailed past Roma keeper Devis Vasquez and into the far corner of the net from an impossible angle. Three minutes, 3-2 United.

Cunha reacted to the goal as if it was singularly responsible for saving United's season — and who knows, it very well may be. He whipped his shirt off and dove into the Old Trafford crowd. It took the security guards a good three minutes to extract him from the stands, and referee Jesus Gil Manzano gave Cunha a yellow card for excessive celebration once they did.

@tudn_usa ¡Remontada del United! ¡Qué locura! #tiktokdeportes #championsleague ♬ sonido original - TUDN USA

90+1 minutes: the silliest red card

That yellow card wound up mattering. Five minutes later, Cunha and Balerdi met again, this time with slightly different results. Cunha, high on his game-winning brace and eager for a hat trick, clattered into Balerdi at the top of the Roma penalty box, and Balerdi went down clutching his ankle. Replays showed that Cunha's challenge was late, aggressive and altogether unnecessary, and he earned a second yellow card (and an early dismissal) for his troubles.

Chaos is nothing new for United, but this kind of chaos — exuberant, hopeful and fueled by passion rather than apathy — certainly is. The club is still floundering, but Cunha's epic eight minutes show that it's got plenty of fight left in its legs...and plenty of entertainment left to deliver.

United will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 8 against Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here.

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