Michael Carrick may have saved his Manchester United job after they overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Roma 3-2 in the Champions League.

For the first time since early September, United fans can celebrate a win and it is a result that may have saved Carrick’s job, for now.

Here are four other times United managers were given a stay of execution by a single result.

Sir Alex Ferguson

It’s the example that gets brought up every time a current Manchester United manager is struggling.

Ferguson was three years into his Manchester United tenure and things were not going so well.

A second-place finish was sandwiched between two 11th-place finishes; they would end the 1989-90 season in 13th and general consensus was Ferguson was not long for the sack.

It was a season which had seen United lose 5-1 away at their noisy neighbours. In December, a banner was unfurled, reading “3 Years Of Excuses And It’s Still Crap. Ta Ra Fergie”. Calls for the sack were growing by the day.

But it was the FA Cup that rescued the future great. United were away at Nottingham Forest in the third round and there was the hope that going on an elongated cup run may distract the Old Trafford faithful from the league form.

Their opponents were Brian Clough’s Forest, a fading giant but still a club that won two European Cups within recent memory. Ferguson made a selection gamble, playing 20-year-old striker Mark Robins and it worked.

The future Coventry manager grabbed the only goal of the game to put United through. They would go on to win the tournament and give Ferguson some much-needed breathing room.

That goal kickstarted the era that would see every trophy come to Old Trafford. United finished sixth the following season. The year after that they were second before winning the first Premier League season in 1993.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Carrick’s success is not the first time United have overcome a 2-0 deficit in Europe to save a manager’s job.

United had started the 2021-22 season poorly under Solskjaer. They had been knocked out of the League Cup. They had been beaten by Young Boys in the Champions League. They had won just one of their past five games and had most recently been thumped 4-2 by Leicester.

The boos that rang out at Old Trafford following a 1-1 draw at Everton showed that the usually patient home fans had turned on their 1999 hero.

And then Solskjaer’s P45 was practically being written up when United trailed Atalanta 2-0 after half an hour.

But a second-half comeback finished off by Cristiano Ronaldo gave Solskjaer a stay of execution, if only for a little while.

They lost the next game 5-0 to Liverpool but persevered with Solskjaer, who took them to second.

He was sacked after a 4-1 defeat at Watford in November.

Erik Ten Hag

By all reports, United were ready to sack Ten Hag that evening before he unexpectedly beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

United were rank outsiders when facing Pep Guardiola’s City, who had just won their fourth consecutive Premier League title, and yet saved their performance of the season for their final match of the season.

Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring on the half-hour mark before Kobbie Mainoo made it two nine minutes later. Ten Hag had outthought Pep, allowing City to have the ball before countering at pace. Jeremy Doku got one back but it was not enough to stop United winning their 13th FA Cup.

It was a moment that many hoped would parallel Ferguson, perhaps this could be what changed United’s fortunes. It wasn’t.

Ten Hag had finished eighth with them but widespread reports of his sacking had undermined any credibility the Dutchman had at the club.

Ten Hag had also given the green light to some of the worst signings in United history, particularly the £86 million paid to Ajax for Antony.

He was eventually sacked in October, just five months after the FA Cup win and delaying the decision cost United even more. Ruben Amorim, a man with a completely different system, was brought in mid-season and never recovered.

Jose Mourinho

A League Cup exit at the hands of Derby and a 3-1 defeat to West Ham had Mourinho on the brink at United.

It was typical late-stage Mourinho. He had fallen out with a number of his own players, most notably Paul Pogba, and there was a cloud of toxicity suffocating the club.

When United went 2-0 down inside the opening 10 minutes against Newcastle at home, that looked to be the end of it.

But United woke up 20 minutes before time. Juan Mata, the much-maligned player under Mourinho at two successive clubs, had curled in a free kick. Anthony Martial equalised in the 76th minute.

And then Alexis Sanchez scored a dramatic late winner to give United the win and complete the comeback.

The fans cheered Mourinho’s name, but it only delayed the end rather than stopping it outright.

United drew the next game 2-2 to Chelsea but went on a run that saw them lose to Juventus, City and Liverpool. That 3-1 defeat at Anfield was enough for Mourinho to be given his marching orders.