The Matheus Cunha Role at Manchester United has come under question after his heroics for the Red Devils in their thrilling 3-2 win over AS Roma in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League clash. The Brazilian forward scored a late brace to help his side end their horrific nine-game winless run, and this win also eases some pressure on Michael Carrick about his future at the club.
The Matheus Cunha role at Old Trafford will now be under interesting debate because he is likely to start more regular games for the Red Devils going forward, after having seemingly fixed a rumoured issue with Carrick.
Cunha proved that he deserves to be a key starter for Carrick’s side with his expert finishing, and that keeping him isolated in the wide areas won’t do anyone any real good. Hence, there needs to be a revaluation of the Matheus Cunha role in the Manchester United side to ensure he can produce more match-winning heroics for his side.
What Is the Ideal Matheus Cunha Role at Manchester United?
The Matheus Cunha role cannot see him having to stay far away from the opposition goal if Manchester United expect him to get amongst the goals for them on a regular basis. The brace that he scored in the win over AS Roma proved that Cunha is best suited to play in a central role for the Red Devils rather than being pushed out wide to a left-wing role and expected to create chances from that position.
Cunha might not be a natural striker, but he can operate as a centre-forward and proved so by scoring a few goals for Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in that position. The ideal Matheus Cunha role at Manchester United would probably be behind the striker, where he could create more chances and also look to get the ball in ideal shooting scenarios in & around the opposition penalty area.
However, a Bruno Fernandes problem seems to pop up for Cunha when it comes to shifting himself into an attacking midfield role.
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How Can Cunha and Bruno Fernandes Perfectly Coexist in Manchester United’s Setup?
For the Matheus Cunha role to get bigger in the Manchester United attack, he probably needs to strike up a unique partnership with Bruno Fernandes.
What the two can do to surprise opposition defenders is often to rotate their positions, bringing an element of surprise to the Red Devils’ attacking moves and making it tougher for opposition players to mark them out of the matches.
Cunha can look to drift into central positions in moments of the match, and that can enable Fernandes to go out wide to the left, where he can link up with the full-backs or try to send in inviting crosses into the box – much like what enabled Cunha’s first goal against AS Roma.
The more these players interchange positions, the more dangerous Manchester United’s attacking moves should get, enabling them to play some wonderful attacking football and also allow Cunha to get more regular goal contributions for the Red Devils.
Extra Time Notes
Matheus Cunha’s superb performance for Manchester United in their win over AS Roma will give a big boost of confidence to the Brazilian forward.
However, for him to keep scoring important goals or deliver more assists on a consistent basis, the Matheus Cunha role in this Manchester United shape needs a bit of tweaking to give him more freedom in the final third.
Cunha has to be given the licence to get into more central positions and make clever runs into the penalty area from different positions. He cannot be expected to stick to the left-wing role throughout matches, which would isolate him and lower his goal threat. The more freedom that the Brazilians star gets, the bigger his chances of scoring vital goals for the Red Devils.
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