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Matheus Cunha has been the architect of two comebacks in less than a week at Man Utd, but he doesn’t understand something.
The AS Roma heroics set the bar high, and Man Utd almost exceeded it by overturning a two-goal deficit twice, and almost winning with the last kick of the game against Aston Villa.
Let's talk Manchester United RELEGATION
The 4-4 draw saves a point, but in the bigger picture, it leaves them in the relegation zone at the international break.
Matheus Cunha doesn’t understand something basic about the club right now.
In an ideal world, coming back from two goals down twice shows the spirit of the team, something which Roy Keane praised after the 4-4 draw against Villa.
However, if the deficit keeps happening in the first place, then you need to worry about the deficit instead of praising the ability to overturn it.
Cunha has reached that point after two wild games, and even though he’s played a key role in making that happen, he’s baffled at why United show spirit only when they are down and out.
He said: “I’m so tired and also disappointed. After the other night we talked about how we concede goals and have the mentality to come back in the game. We did it again where we had to play like Manchester United and go forward. We showed courage but we only do this after we concede goals. We showed character after conceding goals. If we had shown that character and courage before then we will win more games.
“I don’t know why we are making it hard for ourselves. We all work hard and we all want to be the best. We need to change our mentality from the beginning.”
The comeback based on spirit alone is not sustainable, and Cunha knows that, so the forensic analysis behind why that comeback is needed is important.
Until that happens, and the players and the manager keep clutching at straws and praising the comeback spirit, there will be no coming back from the wider issue.