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Michael Carrick has opened up on the half-time speech he delivered to turn Manchester United's fortunes around against Roma. A dismal home side at Old Trafford found themselves 2-0 down at the break and were booed off by their own supporters, before responding in style in the second half.
A quickfire double, courtesy of some woeful defending, saw Roma take an early lead, and shortly after United had their first shot on target of the match in the 44th minute, the home fans made their feelings known. But after Carrick got his underperforming players in the dressing room, he did not focus on the situation surrounding them, but on the game itself.
"We talked about what we wanted to do in the game," Carrick explained to Amazon Prime Sport. "We started OK and then the goal came from nowhere. We caused ourselves a few issues. In some ways understandable with the run we've been on, a little bit anxious and a few nerves at times."
Youri Tielemans was a forced change shortly after the break, after a concerning injury to Carlos Baleba shortly after the players stepped back onto the pitch. United were a different beast from that point on.
Bruno Fernandes was allowed a second chance from the penalty spot, after encroachment was spotted on his first attempt that was saved. Old Trafford was bouncing.
A late Matheus Cunha brace sent that stadium into raptures, but for Carrick, he was determined to delve deep on the game being played and remain positive, at a time when he had every right to row with his players, knowing his job could have been on the line.
He continued: "It was a challenging game. I think we started OK in the game, we knew it was going to be tough - they've only had one defeat all season. They're a very, very good team.
"Then I thought we grew into the game a bit at the end of the first half and I spoke at half-time about being positive. Anything can happen here, I've seen it many times over the years. You just need something to go our way and the boys were fantastic second half.
"They kept going, didn't get disappointed and got exactly what they deserved in the end."
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When asked if he sensed a comeback after Bruno Fernandes' retaken penalty hit the back of the net, Carrick replied: "This place does it. No matter what situation you're in, how tough it can seem, the supporters are desperate to get behind you and we gave them something to go on.
"We gave them other opportunities to score and it was close, and you're thinking 'that's another chance gone by' but we kept looking, kept pushing for answers and we found them in the end."
And addressing his future, which had been precarious going into the European tie, he added: "I don't have a crystal ball to know what happens next. We move on to the weekend, we've got a really important game here against Aston Villa, which we need to prepare for right."
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