Michael Carrick might STILL be one game from the sack. A one-night stand of epic proportions was up there with Man United's best but produced more questions than answers, writes CHRIS WHEELER

What a crazy, chaotic and, frankly, confusing night this was at Old Trafford. The grand old place has seen a few of them down the years, and Manchester United's incredible comeback win over Roma was right up there with the best.

By the end of it, the fans were loving United and hating the Glazers in keeping with their doctrine. Michael Carrick was savouring arguably his greatest moment as head coach, and yet might still be one game from the sack. Two-goal hero Matheus Cunha was being manhandled off the pitch and towards the tunnel, furious at not being able to celebrate with his teammates.

For Carrick, this felt like the equivalent of Erik ten Hag's win over Manchester City in the 2024 FA Cup final and Ruben Amorim's incredible 4-3 victory over Lyon in the Europa League quarter-final last year. The feelgood factor and sense of elation around Old Trafford was palpable.

Neither of those wins were enough to keep Ten Hag and Amorim in a job for much longer, and that is the conundrum for United bosses this morning.

If the feeling in the boardroom – and it remains an if – is to relieve Carrick of his duties, can they be swayed by a one-night stand, albeit one of epic proportions.

If United can follow this up with victory on Sunday over Aston Villa and Unai Emery – one of the candidates being touted as Carrick's replacement – can they really sack their head coach at the start of the international break?

Michael Carrick gave his players the half-time fire power needed to pull off a famous fightback

More than just pulling off the much-needed win against Roma, it felt as if his stars were playing for their manager

On another night when United fans turned on the Glazers, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, director of football Jason Wilcox and even the players as boos greeted the half-time whistle and the 'play like you mean it' banner made a re-appearance for the first time in three years, it was a reminder that the most popular person at the club might be the man who is about to get the bullet.

The players certainly looked as though they are playing for Carrick, and afterwards Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans both gave him their backing.

Looking ahead to this game, Carrick had said: 'Whatever happens is going to happen after that in whatever direction it goes in, but we want to make it a big night tomorrow night first.'

Those words came true in spectacular fashion. For a while, it felt as though he wouldn't even survive until the Villa game as United's defence fell apart and Roma set a new record for a European opponent taking a two-goal lead at Old Trafford. It could have been worse.

Carrick got his players together at half-time and reminded them that it only takes one moment to light the touchpaper here. 'I don't like talking to the lads too much about the history of this place, but it's magical,' he said. 'There's something when we have these nights and we do it the hard way, and one moment can flip the whole feeling.'

Kobbie Mainoo put it more bluntly. 'We needed a bit of a kick,' said the United midfielder.

It worked. United roared back at Roma, showing a resolve and strength of character that has been missing for much of this season. Fernandes converted a retaken penalty, Cunha levelled and then smashed home the winner late on to give United their first victory in 10 games.

The Brazilian's sending-off for removing his shirt after scoring the third and then committing a silly foul on Leonardo Balerdi meant he wasn't allowed to go on the pitch at the end, much to his indignation. Carrick and his staff were there to reinforce the point.

Results clearly haven't been good enough this season, but one of the criticisms levelled at Carrick is that performances have been even worse. The combination of those two factors have left him fighting to save his job.

On the flip side, it felt like this win and the nature of it counted double. One that raised the roof at Old Trafford and lifted the soul.

Yet for so long on Tuesday night, the mood among the United faithful was one of mutiny. They revived the anti-Glazer campaign by bringing green and gold balloons into the Stretford End, and let them loose as the two teams walked out.

Rather like the protests against the absent owners who keep a safe distance thousands of miles away in America, they were never going to hit their target by reaching the pitch and floated harmlessly into the night air. A barrage of tennis balls had greater impact, but they too were soon cleared out of sight.

Chants against the Glazers, Ratcliffe and Wilcox rang out long before kick-off. 'You can stick your new stadium up your a***' chanted the fans. The game was seconds old when we heard the first rendition of 'sell United and f*** off home' followed by the tribute song to Carrick.

Even at a critical point in the game when VAR was studying Gianluca Mancini's challenge on Cunha to see if it warranted a penalty, the United fans broke into a chorus of 'we want Glazers out'. It was the same after Cunha fired the decisive goal as supporters turned on the Americans and voiced their support for Carrick once more. They were caught between wanting to vent their anger at the owners and back Carrick and the team.

Fervent and continuing protests against the ownership underscored Carrick's own popularity, despite being potentially days from getting the sack

Matheus Cunha might have been the late hero but he was unable to celebrate with his team-mates and manager after taking off his shirt

'The players one hundred per cent feed off the crowd, absolutely no doubt whatsoever,' said Carrick. 'I understand there's frustration and disappointment, I totally get that.

'Probably the time when it was easy for them not to be there, they were there. I felt that there was frustration, of course there was. I get it. But I know what they're like and we've got to give them something to go on.'

United managed to do that in the end, but it was a funny sort of night. One that produced more questions than answers. The biggest of them concerns Carrick. Is he doing enough to convince his employers that United can turn a corner? Victory in Europe doesn't alter the fact they are one place above the Premier League relegation zone.

There is one more game against Villa and then the choice is very simple: stick or twist?

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