Manchester United vs Roma: The tactics board - Roma fail to register a shot after the break as Matheus Cunha completes United's comeback
Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford, ending a nine-match winless run and lifting Michael Carrick's side to 17th in the Champions League league phase on six points. Roma, who stay 19th on four points, led through Matias Soule and a Donyell Malen penalty inside the opening 18 minutes, and by half-time Opta's supercomputer gave United just a 5.4% chance of winning. Bruno Fernandes' retaken penalty and a late double from Matheus Cunha turned the game around.
The numbers describe two different matches. In the first half, Roma had seven shots, four of them on target, and an expected goals (xG) figure of 1.53, while United managed 0.24 xG from five efforts, none of them from inside the box. After the break, United took 10 shots, seven from inside the area, and generated 2.48 xG. Roma did not have a single attempt in the second half.
Manchester United's tactical setup
Carrick named a 4-2-3-1, with Kobbie Mainoo and Carlos Baleba in the double pivot and Fernandes behind a front line of Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo. Ayden Heaven came into the back four alongside Harry Maguire after Lisandro Martinez's red card at Chelsea on Saturday, with Leny Yoro at right-back and Diogo Dalot on the left.
United's full-backs played high, with Yoro and Dalot both averaging positions close to the halfway line, and that left space behind them whenever the ball was lost. The opener came from exactly that. Mainoo was sloppy in possession, Rodrigo Mora spotted Soule completely unmarked on the far side, and a diagonal ball allowed him to slot past Senne Lammens in the 11th minute. Seven minutes later, Soule was free on the far side again, dropped his shoulder and saw his shot blocked by Heaven's arm, and Malen sent Lammens the wrong way from the spot.
Going forward, United were restricted to efforts from distance before the break. Baleba fired over from the edge of the box, Fernandes shot over with his left foot, and Mainoo forced Devis Vasquez to gather from range. Their best opening came in the 14th minute, when a low ball across the six-yard area was cleared just before Cunha could reach it at the far post.
The improvement after the interval came with the same XI, as Carrick made no changes at half-time. United got into the box far more often, finishing with 30 touches in the opposition area to Roma's eight. Cunha, whose average position was the most advanced of any United player, went down under pressure from Gianluca Mancini to win a penalty in the 55th minute, and a lovely through ball sent Mbeumo in behind four minutes later, only for his finish to strike both posts and come back out. United were sharper without the ball too, making 14 tackles in the second half after just six in the first, and their crossing improved, with three of six second-half crosses finding a team-mate after none of five before the break.
Roma's tactical setup
Gian Piero Gasperini's injury-hit Roma lined up in a 3-4-2-1, with Vasquez making his competitive debut in goal behind Mancini, Leonardo Balerdi and Mario Hermoso. Devyne Rensch and Wesley were the wing-backs either side of Bryan Cristante and Marten de Roon, while Mora and Soule supported Malen. Paulo Dybala failed a late fitness test and joined Manu Kone, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Mile Svilar on the sidelines.
Roma's attacks were heavily weighted towards their right, with 46% of them coming down that flank. That was Soule's side, and it was the area United's left-back vacated when Dalot pushed on. Both goals came from Soule being left unmarked there, and Mora's vision to find him with the opener was the sharpest pass of the first half.
Roma still carried a threat beyond those two moments. Malen skipped away from Heaven just before the break and forced Lammens to push a low shot away from the bottom corner, and Soule bent an effort from the edge of the box narrowly wide in stoppage time. They also had to reshuffle early, as Rensch was forced off injured in the 21st minute and replaced by teenager Emanuele Lulli, who was booked for handling to stop a Dalot dink.
Without the ball, Balerdi tracked Mbeumo down the left and timed a fine challenge in the 34th minute. As the game turned, though, Roma were pinned back. They made 24 clearances to United's 15, with 15 of those coming after the interval.
The tactical chess match
The key battle of the first half was on Roma's right against United's left. Soule kept finding space between Dalot and Heaven, and United's high full-backs left that channel exposed every time they lost the ball. Yoro's recovery to cut out a Soule pass for Mora in the 39th minute was one of the few times United closed it in time.
The second half was decided as much by set pieces as by open play. United finished with 0.41 xG from set plays to Roma's 0.07 and won 17 aerial duels to 12. In the 67th minute, Maguire's far-post header was deflected behind, and from the next corner Dalot nodded towards goal, only for Cristante to clear off the line. Two minutes later, Maguire wanted a penalty after tussling with Balerdi at another corner, but play eventually restarted with a goal-kick after a review, and Dalot was denied again from a dead ball soon after.
The penalty that started the comeback came with its own twist. Vasquez saved Fernandes' first effort in the 57th minute, but the kick was retaken because a Roma player had entered the area, and the United captain hammered his second attempt into the roof of the net.
The equaliser came from a cross. In the 83rd minute, Balerdi completely missed his attempted clearance of a Fernandes delivery, and Cunha finished from close range.
In-game adjustments
Gasperini made the first change at half-time, replacing Mora with Niccolo Pisilli, and Roma did not have a shot from that point on. Carrick's first change was forced. Baleba pulled up with a hamstring injury in the 48th minute and Youri Tielemans replaced him three minutes later, and he later tried to release Amad with a long ball in behind.
The two benches moved almost at the same time with a quarter of an hour left. Carrick replaced the booked Heaven with Martinez and sent on Shea Lacey for Amad, while Gasperini changed two of his three centre-backs, bringing on Daniele Ghilardi for Mancini and Evan N'Dicka for Hermoso, before replacing Malen with Santiago Castro. Within 11 minutes of the first of those changes, United had scored twice, and Balerdi, the only member of Roma's starting back three still on the pitch, was at fault for the first.
Lacey made the decisive contribution. United attacked down the right, where 43% of their attacks came over the match, and the substitute cut inside before threading the ball into Cunha, who beat Vasquez from a tight angle via the inside of the near post in the 86th minute.
The finish was far from comfortable. Cunha was booked for removing his shirt in celebration, Matthijs de Ligt replaced a limping Maguire, and Mason Mount came on for Fernandes. Then, early in stoppage time, Cunha was sent off for a second booking after a late sliding challenge on Balerdi. Roma had the extra man for the remaining minutes, but their only sight of goal ended with Castro flagged offside.
Conclusion
United did not win this game through a single tactical switch. They won it because the same players who were overrun before the break started reaching the penalty area, and took control of the set pieces, while Roma's attack disappeared entirely after Mora's withdrawal. Lacey's arrival on the right provided the final touch. For Roma, it was the second time in this campaign that they let a big lead slip, after surrendering a 3-1 advantage to lose 4-3 against Real Madrid on matchday two.
