Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has outlined his hopes for Matheus Cunha following his heroic performance in the comeback against AS Roma.
Heroic Cunha
Thanks to Cunha’s stunning exploits at Old Trafford on Tuesday, United avoided what would have been a humiliating defeat.
The Red Devils found themselves staring down the barrel of another loss when Roma cruised to a commanding two-goal lead inside 17 minutes.
United reduced the arrears on the hour mark as Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot, having missed his first attempt but being granted a second bite of the apple due to an encroachment offence.
The hosts continued to push and finally got their reward as Cunha scored in the 83rd minute after a missed clearance from Leonardo Balerdi. The Brazilian then smashed home the winner three minutes later, completing a remarkable comeback at a packed Old Trafford.
In a rollercoaster of a game, Cunha was also shown a red card following a second bookable offence for a needless challenge on Balerdi. Cunha had initially been yellow-carded for taking off his shirt and jumping into the crowd after netting his second of the evening.
Getting in amongst it 😍 https://t.co/41QtyWHrPW
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 3, 2026
Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Ferdinand expressed his hope that the Roma game proves to be the moment Cunha truly explodes for United.
| Stat | Premier League | UEFA Champions League | League Cup | All competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition | Premier League | UEFA Champions League | League Cup | All competitions |
| Apps | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| Minutes | 616 | 235 | 10 | 861 |
| Starts | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Sub appearances | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Goals | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Non-penalty goals | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Assists | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Goals + assists | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Minutes per goal | 616 | 78 | – | 215 |
| xG (PL) | 1.36 | – | – | 1.36 |
| xA (PL) | 1.06 | – | – | 1.06 |
| xG + xA (PL) | 2.42 | – | – | 2.42 |
| Avg rating | 6.54 | 7.36 | 6.52 | 6.77 |
| Shots | 13 | 10 | 0 | 23 |
| Shots on target | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Shot accuracy % | 46.2% | 70.0% | – | 56.5% |
| Conversion % | 7.7% | 30.0% | – | 17.4% |
| Passes | 228 | 104 | 6 | 338 |
| Accurate passes | 191 | 81 | 6 | 278 |
| Stat | Premier League | UEFA Champions League | League Cup | All competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pass accuracy % | 83.8% | 77.9% | 100.0% | 82.2% |
| Key passes | 11 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| Dribbles attempted | 13 | 9 | 2 | 24 |
| Dribbles completed | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| Dribble success % | 38.5% | 55.6% | 100.0% | 50.0% |
| Tackles | 12 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tackles + interceptions | 15 | 6 | 0 | 21 |
| Blocks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Duels | 76 | 35 | 2 | 113 |
| Duels won | 32 | 18 | 2 | 52 |
| Duels won % | 42.1% | 51.4% | 100.0% | 46.0% |
| Dribbled past | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Fouls won | 13 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| Fouls committed | 10 | 8 | 0 | 18 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red cards | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties won | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties conceded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ferdinand outlines Cunha hopes
The six-time Premier League winner said, “I think for Cunha this could be liftoff where he starts to catch fire. I think he’s a hugely talented footballer and he showed glimpses, especially last season.”
“Could this be the game that unlocks him? Because I haven’t seen it enough yet with him. You see moments, and you go, ‘Oh, look at that, that’s why we paid the big money for him’, but not enough.”
Ferdinand added, “He needs to be watching back that performance and go, where were the fans feeding off me there? Where was I getting them going? Where was I getting the team and being the pressure point for the team?”
“It was without the ball a lot of the time. And keep bringing that every game.”
United are next in action on Sunday when they host Bruno Fernandes Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
