Carrick singles out Man Utd star after remarkable Roma comeback - 'A bit of mischief'

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick hailed Shea Lacey's "bit of mischief" for helping unlock Roma and ease the pressure at Old Trafford.

United appeared to be heading for a fourth successive defeat after Matias Soule's finish and Donyell Malen's penalty had them 2-0 down inside 17 minutes. But a staggering second-half comeback saw United win 3-2 thanks to Bruno Fernandes' retaken penalty and a brace from Matheus Cunha.

Cunha grabbed the headlines with his coolly-taken first goal after a mistake by Leonardo Balerdi and a powerful second smashed in at the near post. But United's revival, which ended a nine-game winless run, was also sparked by the arrival of Lacey off the bench in the 75th minute.

The 19-year-old replaced Amad Diallo with the score at 2-1 and provided the incisive pass which teed up Cunha's winning goal. It was just Lacey's 10th first-team appearance for the club and Carrick was full of praise for his impact.

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"Not going too over the top, but at the same time absolutely delighted for Shea," he said. "We love him to bits. He's a great young man, he's desperate to do well, he's got great ability. So in terms of coming inside and finding the pass, that's not surprising.

"He's got that little glint in his eye, he plays with a bit of mischief, if you like, so he's always looking to have that. But I was just as happy seeing him defending as a right-back when we needed that in the moments when as a rounded footballer, you've got to be able to do that.

"So I was just as pleased seeing him do that in the defensive side, and seeing younger players take the opportunity. I think he gave everybody a bit of a lift coming on the pitch, and it was fantastic to see, and he made the most of what he had tonight."

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Lacey helped give United some renewed attacking impetus off the bench, but it was Cunha who stole the show after a tactical tweak at half-time. The Brazilian's passion was there for all to see when he ripped off his shirt and jumped into the stands to celebrate his winner.

His performance slightly lost its gloss after he slid in for an over-enthusiastic tackle in the closing stages to pick up a second yellow card and leave his team down to 10 men in injury time.

"Matheus can do those things, he's got those moments," said Carrick. "We put him inside, we swapped him with Bryan [Mbeumo] at half-time to try and get him in the middle of the pitch, try and give us a little bit of different shape, and put him in the centre of the pitch, and he found himself in good positions.

"Disappointed with how it finished, but again just shows how much he cares and willing to do, and when he's in that frame of mind, he's in that mood and he plays like that, that's what we want from him."