Why Man Utd's Roma comeback has echoes of Mourinho and Solskjaer

It was impossible not to get swept up in the emotion and delirium of Manchester United's late 3-2 Champions League comeback win against Roma.

Old Trafford was transformed from a mutinous, baying cathedral of distrust and fury to one of joy and celebration.

Nine games and almost eight weeks is an eternity to wait for a victory at a club of Manchester United's size.

It didn't take Michael Carrick long to calm the mood.

"It's one win, so we're not getting too carried away with things, but it was an important win."

It was a huge result in the sense it bought Carrick some time. But given United's general state, no-one can be sure how much.

And, as was quickly pointed out in the aftermath of the victory, Manchester United have been here before.

'Jose Mourinho set to be sacked whatever Manchester United's result vs Newcastle.'

As headlines go, it was attention grabbing.

Saturday, 6 October 2018.

As it turned out, the Mirror was wrong. Although United officials at the time tried to play down the situation, sources have since admitted the intention was to sack Mourinho after presiding over the club's worst start to a season in 29 years, and defeat by Newcastle would make it inevitable.

Much like the Roma game, the visitors raced into a two-goal lead and the atmosphere in the stadium started to turn, with most of the venom aimed at the director's box rather than the manager.

Mourinho, who had promoted Carrick to assistant coach, replaced Eric Bailly with Juan Mata after 19 minutes and it was Mata who scored the 70th-minute goal that sparked the comeback, completed by Alexis Sanchez in the final minute for a 3-2 victory.

After the game, Mourinho said the pressure on him was a "manhunt". However, the relationship between manager and club had been turning sour since the previous summer. His demand for Anthony Martial to be sold had been rejected, while record signing Paul Pogba was proving a problem.

While the Newcastle win sparked an improvement in form, a run of two wins in eight games culminating in a 3-1 loss at Liverpool led to Mourinho's dismissal 10 weeks later.

Former United defender Rio Ferdinand dismissed calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be sacked before the Champions League encounter with Atalanta on 20 October 2021 as representative of "current fan culture".

Carrick was also part of Solskjaer's coaching group as United went top of the Premier League when they beat Newcastle just over a month earlier, but two wins in seven suggested all was not well.

As he did with Roma, coach Gian Piero Gasperini saw his team establish a two-goal lead by half-time, then collapse. Cristiano Ronaldo was the matchwinner on this occasion, nine minutes from time for another 3-2 win.

Even if United had lost that night, it is hard to think Solskjaer's job would have been under threat. What followed immediately afterwards was a totally different story.

Liverpool came to Old Trafford and established a four-goal first-half lead. Jurgen Klopp's men won 5-0, their biggest ever away win over their old rivals.

Many United fans thought Solskjaer should go that night. It was three weeks later that it happened, after a 4-1 defeat at Watford.

One look at the Premier League table shows why Carrick is right not to get carried away.

If results go against them, Manchester United could be bottom of the table by the time they kick-off against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Neither Mourinho nor Solskjaer could follow up their 3-2 successes with another victory. Mourinho's United drew at Chelsea, then lost at home to Juventus. Solskjaer's United were embarrassed by Liverpool. It meant neither man was able to build on the momentum generated by their epic victories.

That is Carrick's challenge.

United have gone seven Premier League games without a win. They went eight under Ruben Amorim at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, but draws and losses were split by victories en route to the Europa League final, so the effect was not as great as it feels right now.

The club does have an exceptional home record against Villa. They have won their past six in all competitions and lost just two league games against the Midlands outfit at Old Trafford since 1983.

When United sources finally communicated - almost 48 hours after the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth on 25 October - that Carrick and his players would be given the opportunity to turn the situation around, no timescale was put on this. However, the feeling was the forthcoming international break would be an appropriate time for the club hierarchy to take stock and decide what direction they should go in.

In the two games since, Carrick's team have been excellent across two halves.

Victory against Villa, albeit with £70m Carlos Baleba joining the injured list, would haul them up to within two points of Unai Emery's side heading into a tricky run of matches post international break, starting at Liverpool, but also including trips to Newcastle and Arsenal in December. Given he beat Manchester City and Arsenal in his first two games as interim boss.

Defeat is likely to dump them in the relegation zone for at least a fortnight and facing severe baiting at Anfield on 22 November.

"It's not about me," is a phrase Carrick has repeated often as he has assessed the wreckage of another bad result. The outcome against Roma was much more positive.

There is no suggestion Carrick's future has been decided just yet. What happens at Old Trafford this weekend looks very important.