Youri Tielemans said Manchester United’s players must stand by Michael Carrick after their dramatic 3-2 Champions League comeback against Roma at Old Trafford.
United had lost their previous three matches and were on a nine-game winless run – their worst sequence since 1988 – before Tuesday’s game. Carrick has remained in his position, but pressure on the manager had intensified.
That pressure appeared to increase when United fell 2-0 behind by half-time. However, they produced a second-half revival, with Bruno Fernandes converting a penalty at the second attempt before Matheus Cunha scored twice late on.
Cunha was sent off in stoppage time, but United held on for a victory which could prove important.
“The turnaround was brilliant, big mentality,” Tielemans told Amazon Prime. “We just kept working, we kept believing. We were on the front foot in the second half.
“We tried to push them into their goal, and we succeeded.”
Asked about Carrick’s position, Tielemans said the players had responded in the strongest way possible.
“There has been a lot of pressure on him, and that’s how we repay him, with a comeback like this, big character, big fight,” he said.
“That’s a different question. The only thing we can do is stick behind him, fight for him and fight for the club.
“At the end of the day, we are on the pitch, and we need to show what we are capable of and, especially in the second half, we showed what we can do, and we turned up the gears.
“Let’s hope this is a good turnaround for us and let’s hope we can build on this.”
United have now won four Champions League matches after falling two or more goals behind, a total matched by Real Madrid and bettered by no other team.
They have also won both of their past two Champions League home games in which they trailed by at least two goals. The previous occasion was a 3-2 victory over Atalanta in October 2021, when the Italian side were also managed by Gian Piero Gasperini.
Kobbie Mainoo said the result demonstrated the ability within the squad to change matches.
“We know what we’re capable of,” said Mainoo.
“We know we’re a dangerous team, and we know we can change a game whenever; it’s just it all coming together at the right time. Hopefully, we carry it on for the rest of the season.”
