Manchester United 3-2 Roma: result and report

The Pundit picked Manchester United (41%): correct

Report

Manchester United won 3-2 after going two goals down, and the winner came only four minutes from the end. The way the game played out suggests the better side won, even though they made it far harder than it needed to be.

Roma made the stronger start. Matías Soulé scored on 11 minutes from Rodrigo Mora's pass, and Donyell Malen made it 2-0 from the penalty spot six minutes later. Manchester United still had no reply until the 58th minute, when Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty of their own.

The finish belonged to Matheus Cunha. He equalised on 83 minutes from a Fernandes assist, then scored the winner three minutes later after Shea Lacey set him up. His match still ended badly, because he was sent off for a second yellow card in the first minute of added time.

The comeback was not a fluke. Manchester United finished with 2.23 xG to Roma's 1.28, had 10 shots to six and put six on target to four. They also made 11 key passes to Roma's four and created three big chances to two. Both sides hit the woodwork once, so neither can claim to have been unlucky on that front.

The pressure readings also favoured Manchester United. Their average across the match was far higher than Roma's, which fits a side that kept pushing while trailing rather than one that scored with late breakaways.

Roma did most of their damage early. After scoring twice in the first 17 minutes, one of those goals from a penalty, they ended the match with six shots in total. That left them little to fall back on once their lead started to shrink.