Rio Ferdinand believes that Matheus Cunha could ‘catch fire’ for Manchester United after his match-winning brace against Roma in the Champions League.
Michael Carrick’s struggling side came from 2-0 down to clinch an unlikely 3-2 win over Serie A side Roma at Old Trafford.
A penalty from Bruno Fernandes sparked the comeback before Cunha scored two late goals to secure victory and end United’s nine-game winless run.
The Brazilian had scored just two goals in all competitions prior to Tuesday’s victory, but Ferdinand is hopeful that the 28-year-old can use the performance as a springboard ahead of a crucial, and tough, run of fixtures.
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‘I think for Cunha this could be liftoff where he starts to catch fire,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. ‘I think he’s a hugely talented footballer and he showed glimpses, especially last season.
‘Could this be the game that unlocks him? Because I haven’t seen it enough yet with him. You see moments, and you go, “Oh, look at that, that’s why we paid the big money for him”, but not enough.
‘And I thought yesterday [Tuesday], I thought he was intense off the ball… sometimes to generate a good performance, it isn’t necessarily always going to be a bit of skill, or a goal, or a bit of that Brazilian samba.
‘Sometimes it’s a bit of hard work and graft that the fans acknowledge and I thought Cunha yesterday was doing that.
‘He was chasing, he was harrying, he ended up getting sent off for doing just that, which was a little bit immature, but the intention that he had all through the game, I thought, set him up to put him in a position to be able to have that chance and finish. And it was good to see.
‘He needs to be watching back that performance and go, where were the fans feeding off me there? Where was I getting them going? Where was I getting the team and being the pressure point for the team? It was without the ball a lot of the time. And keep bringing that every game.
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‘But Cunha has talent and he could be a big, big, big difference for this team if he’s playing consistently well and he’s doing his thing on the pitch.’
Elsewhere, Ferdinand was keen to praise the returning Kobbie Mainoo and suggested that the midfielder needs to be the centrepiece of Carrick’s team moving forward.
‘Whilst he was out injured, they lost five games, so it tells you he’s got an importance within this team,’ Ferdinand added.
‘I think it’s the control that he brings, that calmness under pressure, taking the ball in all difficult areas, in different phases of the pitch, I think is important.
‘But I think keeping Kobbie Mainoo fit, especially now Baleba’s out with a hamstring injury, you need to keep Kobbie Mainoo fit. You need him in this team.
‘You need to make him a centrepiece of this team, and the data’s telling you that he has huge importance for this team if we’re going to go and do anything and win any games.’
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