Roma collapse after the break as Manchester United come back to win 3-2 at Old Trafford

Bryan Cristante has said Roma must review and understand where they need to improve after their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United. Speaking in the mixed zone, the Giallorossi midfielder called the loss a disappointment. Cristante said: "We need to review and understand where we must improve." He also addressed the penalty that helped Manchester United, saying: "The penalty has recharged them, but the contact was light. The defeat is a shame."

Roma led Manchester United at Old Trafford through goals from Soulé and Malen, but collapsed in the second half and lost the match. Soulé gave Roma the lead around the tenth minute with a left-footed strike, and Malen doubled it from the spot before the break. United then won a penalty in the second half. Vásquez saved the initial spot-kick, but the referee ordered a retake because Cristante had his knee on the line when he cleared the rebound. Bruno Fernandes stepped up again and scored, and Roma's concentration went with it. Balerdi's slip allowed the equaliser, and another error led to United's third goal. Roma had dominated the first half, with Soulé and Malen putting them 2-0 up. The second half turned on the disputed penalty. Roma appeared to tire after that, and a thin bench did not help. Gasperini's side had been pushed back, and the closing stages followed a familiar pattern for the club in recent weeks. The ratings were: Vásquez 6, Mancini 5.5, Balerdi 4.5, Hermoso 6, Cristante 6, De Roon 5.5, Wesley 5.5, Mora 6.5, Soulé 6.5, Malen 6 and Gasperini 5.5. Ghilardi, who came on for Mancini in the 74th minute, was rated 5.5, and N'Dicka, on for Hermoso in the 75th, was rated 5.5. Lulli, on for Rensch after 22 minutes, was rated 5.5. Rensch was not rated after playing barely twenty minutes. Pisilli, on from the 45th minute, was rated 5, while Castro, who came on for Malen in the 77th minute, was rated 5.5. Vásquez saved the first penalty but could do nothing about the retake. Mancini was booked for the penalty concession and was reportedly unhappy with the decision. Mora's pass for Soulé and his contribution to the penalty earned him the highest rating of the night, despite a couple of light touches. Balerdi was the most heavily criticised. His rating reflected a double-edged performance: some anticipations raised the pressure, but he steered well for long periods before the late errors. Cristante was praised for his control in the first half and was described as losing some sharpness after the break. The match report ends with the group stage in mind, though the source does not state a next fixture. Roma's bench and fatigue remain the central talking points.

Bryan Cristante has said Roma must work to stop making the same mistakes, admitting the squad lacks the habit of managing a game after a comeback defeat at Manchester United in the fourth round of Serie A. Roma were 2-0 up at one stage before losing, and Cristante acknowledged the pattern of late collapses is becoming a concern. Cristante said the team started well and produced a very strong first half that could have ended with more than a 2-0 lead. He accepted that Manchester United are a strong side who become difficult to contain once they find their moment, but added that Roma needed to do more, especially as they had already been through the same situation. He also said the penalty award looked very doubtful to him, while stressing that the club must review the match closely and understand where they go wrong, because the comebacks are starting to pile up. Asked whether the team lacks the habit of managing a game, Cristante said that may be the case and that everyone behind the ball must be more focused. "Even today we were 2-0 up, sometimes you can drop back but without conceding too much," he said. On whether the defeat could be part of a growth process, he said: "We must take the positive things. We played a very good first half against a strong team in a stadium like that, even though they are not at their best moment. We must learn, we know this is a point where we must improve. We will work on it and try to understand where we are making mistakes." Asked whether the United pressure in the second half had surprised Roma, Cristante said: "Maybe we also dropped back a little, thinking we could hold the result. It is a combination of factors. In the second half we managed to keep the ball very little, we did not shoot much and we could not breathe with the ball."

Roma led Manchester United at Old Trafford through goals from Soulé and Malen, but collapsed in the second half and lost the match. Soulé gave Roma the lead around the tenth minute with a left-footed strike, and Malen doubled it from the spot before the break. United then won a penalty in the second half. Vásquez saved the initial spot-kick, but the referee ordered a retake because Cristante had his knee on the line when he cleared the rebound. Bruno Fernandes stepped up again and scored, and Roma's concentration went with it. Balerdi's slip allowed the equaliser, and another error led to United's third goal. Roma had dominated the first half, with Soulé and Malen putting them 2-0 up. The second half turned on the disputed penalty. Roma appeared to tire after that, and a thin bench did not help. Gasperini's side had been pushed back, and the closing stages followed a familiar pattern for the club in recent weeks. The ratings were: Vásquez 6, Mancini 5.5, Balerdi 4.5, Hermoso 6, Cristante 6, De Roon 5.5, Wesley 5.5, Mora 6.5, Soulé 6.5, Malen 6 and Gasperini 5.5. Ghilardi, who came on for Mancini in the 74th minute, was rated 5.5, and N'Dicka, on for Hermoso in the 75th, was rated 5.5. Lulli, on for Rensch after 22 minutes, was rated 5.5. Rensch was not rated after playing barely twenty minutes. Pisilli, on from the 45th minute, was rated 5, while Castro, who came on for Malen in the 77th minute, was rated 5.5. Vásquez saved the first penalty but could do nothing about the retake. Mancini was booked for the penalty concession and was reportedly unhappy with the decision. Mora's pass for Soulé and his contribution to the penalty earned him the highest rating of the night, despite a couple of light touches. Balerdi was the most heavily criticised. His rating reflected a double-edged performance: some anticipations raised the pressure, but he steered well for long periods before the late errors. Cristante was praised for his control in the first half and was described as losing some sharpness after the break. The match report ends with the group stage in mind, though the source does not state a next fixture. Roma's bench and fatigue remain the central talking points.

Roma suffered another damaging Champions League defeat, losing 3-2 at Old Trafford to Manchester United after leading by two goals. Gian Piero Gasperini's side dominated the first half, with Matías Soulé opening the scoring and Donyell Malen converting a penalty. The lead looked set to give Roma a magical evening, but they collapsed mentally in the second half and allowed the Red Devils back into the game. United's comeback began with a missed penalty that was ordered to be retaken, and Bruno Fernandes converted the second attempt. Roma's problems deepened when Leonardo Balerdi made a clamorous error that gave Cunha the equaliser for 2-2. Three minutes later Cunha scored again to make it 3-2, sending the Old Trafford crowd into ecstasy. The result, following a similar collapse against Real Madrid, makes Roma's path through the Champions League considerably harder. The match ratings gave Cunha 7.5 for turning the game around, Soulé 7 for his goal, which was not enough to save the result, and Balerdi 5 for his decisive error.

Leonardo Balerdi's two errors in the final minutes turned a comfortable Roma lead at Old Trafford into a painful defeat, with United coming back to win after Roma had been 2-0 up. Roma had dominated the first half under Gian Piero Gasperini, going 2-0 up through Soulé and a Malen penalty, with Balerdi outstanding at the heart of the defence, making ferocious interceptions, playing the ball out with authority and dominating his area. The match then followed the pattern of the recent defeat to Real Madrid: Roma stopped running, suffered constantly and let United back into the game. The decisive moment came in the 83rd minute. Balerdi was well placed to win the ball, an ordinary play for a player who had been the best on the pitch until then, but he slipped and missed it, allowing Cunha to score the 2-2 equaliser. Three minutes later he was again at fault, with the ball for United's 3-2 goal coming through his mistake, the second consecutive error that completed the collapse. Cunha was sent off for a second yellow card shortly afterwards, but the damage was done and Roma lost three points. Balerdi had been in a race for a starting place with N'Dicka until the last moment, but Gasperini preferred him for his dynamism and pace. He was not at full fitness, having not played in the last 180 minutes because of a knee problem. Gasperini deployed him as the central figure of a three-man defence alongside Mancini and Hermoso, specifically to mark Matheus Cunha, who was playing as a number nine for Carrick. Balerdi had earlier been impressive in a double against Napoli, which had convinced Roma to prepare a buy-back option worth over €11 million with Marseille, and he had previously been on Juventus's transfer radar. The article describes the result as leaving Roma battered, with the lesson that dominating like giants is not enough; the side must learn not to fall asleep at the crucial moment.