Matheus Cunha had just dragged Manchester United out of a hole at Old Trafford. Minutes later, Michael Carrick was pulling him out of another one.
Cunha came off the bench and scored twice in three minutes to win a Champions League match United looked certain to lose, then was shown a second yellow card in the 91st minute for a late challenge, according to The Analyst’s match review. His first booking had come moments earlier for pulling his shirt off and leaping into the home crowd to mark his second goal.
That should have been the end of his night. It was not.
The confrontation at full time
After the final whistle on Tuesday, Cunha walked back onto the pitch to join the celebrations with his teammates. Carrick walked straight to him, grabbed him and, as footage showed, told him to leave the field. Cunha shouted back at his manager, visibly unhappy, before eventually walking off while applauding the stands.
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The row looked like fury. It was closer to protection.
The rule Carrick did not want Cunha to break twice
Under IFAB Law 12, a dismissed player must leave the vicinity of the field of play and the technical area and remain there until the match ends. Cunha’s return to the pitch to celebrate was a second potential breach of that same regulation in the space of minutes, and officials are entitled to report it to UEFA. According to AOL, possible consequences include an extension of a ban or a fine, depending on the player’s behaviour.
Carrick, it appears, was trying to get his match-winner off the grass before the referee’s notebook came out again. Brit Brief reports that Cunha could face further UEFA sanction on top of the automatic one-match suspension triggered by the red card, with the governing body able to add days to a ban if a match official files a report.
A comeback that papers over nothing
The result itself is a lifeline for Carrick. United had trailed 2-0 at the break before Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the spot after an hour, Cunha equalised in the 83rd minute and struck again three minutes later.
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The job was done. Then Cunha undid part of it.
Carrick now has to prepare for at least one European fixture without his most in-form forward, with the prospect of losing him for longer if UEFA chooses to act on the pitch-invasion issue. He also has a locker-room moment to manage: a striker who believes he has just saved his manager and was told off, on live television, by that same manager.
The club has not yet commented on whether a referee’s report has been filed, and UEFA has yet to confirm any disciplinary action beyond the automatic one-match ban.
