United orchestrate dramatic comeback

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Manchester United staged a stunning comeback to recover from their worst start to a European home game and beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League yesterday.

Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, set a competition record for the fastest team to score four goals, racing into a 4-0 lead after just 17 minutes against Villarreal on the way to a 6-0 victory.

Elsewhere, Barcelona defeated Aston Villa 3-0, while Bayern Munich secured a 2-0 win over Atlético Madrid.

But the night’s biggest drama unfolded at Old Trafford, where United’s troubled season appeared set to plunge deeper into crisis after they fell 2-0 behind inside 17 minutes against Roma.

It was the fastest United had conceded twice in any European match at their iconic stadium. However, a stirring second-half performance saw Bruno Fernandes convert a retaken penalty before Matheus Cunha scored twice, despite later being sent off, to seal a much-needed victory for under-fire coach Michael Carrick.

“I’m not getting too carried away with things,” Carrick said.

“I think it’s an important night. I think it’s important for some of the players to have the feeling that they maybe haven’t had here before.”

Protests turn into a party

The jubilant scenes at full-time were in stark contrast to events earlier in the evening when angry United supporters attempted to disrupt the match by throwing tennis balls onto the field.

The pre-planned protest was the latest demonstration against the club’s American owners, the Glazer family, with fans continuing calls for them to sell their controlling stake.

A small number of balls were thrown in the 21st minute to mark 21 years since the Glazers completed their leveraged buyout of the club.

By then, Roma had already surged into a 2-0 lead through Matias Soule’s 11th-minute strike and a Donyell Malen penalty.

The visitors could have been further ahead by the interval after creating several more chances, but the contest was transformed after halftime. Fernandes’ twice-taken penalty gave the home side renewed belief before Cunha completed the turnaround with goals in the 83rd and 86th minutes.

“We knew after halftime that we still had the fans with us, and we felt that at any moment we could change that with a goal, with something. Fortunately for us, we did it today,” Fernandes told Amazon Prime. “Hopefully, this win today gives the start of something good for us.”

It was a case of history repeating itself for Roma, who also conceded three goals in the final 10 minutes of a 4-3 loss to Real Madrid last month.

Rampant PSG set record

PSG continue to look like the team to beat as they pursue a third successive Champions League title, a feat previously achieved by Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018.

Even without injured attackers Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the French champions possessed far too much firepower for Villarreal, effectively deciding the match before halftime at El Madrigal.

Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu and Fabian Ruiz all scored inside the opening 17 minutes. UEFA said it was the fastest a team had ever scored four goals in a Champions League match.

Ruiz added his second before 17-year-old David Boly, just four minutes after making his competition debut as a substitute, completed the rout.

“Conceding four goals so quickly is difficult for any team,” Ruiz said. “You prepare for a match, and then to have four goals scored against you, it’s a real blow. We don’t look at the scoreboard. We always try to stick to our own style of play and our own rhythm.”