Manchester United's 2-3 comeback over AS Roma quickly became a story about Leonardo Balerdi. The defender was directly involved in the last two United goals, and La Gazzetta dello Sport handed him 4.5/10 after the final whistle.
Balerdi's second-half collapse
Foot Mercato quoted La Gazzetta's verdict in full: “Some good things, but he always gets his anticipation wrong: first, he gets away with it, then he is saved by Mbeumo's double post. A nightmare finish to the match: he loses the ball for the equaliser and is caught on the 3-2.”
The harshness is easy to understand. Balerdi's overall match rating was 6.62, but his Champions League season rating sits at 6.61, lower than his 7.29 in Serie A this season. One bad European night does not rewrite a season, but it does explain why the Italian coverage landed so heavily on him.
United's post and the mood around the result
Manchester United's social team added another layer with a simple “Absolute Cinema” post after the comeback. Football-Italia presented it as part of the reaction to the win, and the phrase was enough to keep the aftermath going long after the final whistle.
The result itself was already wild enough. United had trailed by two goals before turning it around to win 3-2, and their previous Champions League meetings with Roma included the 7-1 win in April 2007 and the 6-2 win in 2021. This time, the scoreline stayed tighter, but the noise around the game was all about Balerdi and the tone of United's response.
Manchester United vs AS Roma was one of those nights where the comeback mattered, but the damage was felt most sharply by the defender at the centre of Roma's collapse.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
