Cunha's gym quip leaves Carragher and Richards in stitches after Man Utd comeback

Matheus Cunha capped a dramatic night at Old Trafford with an unscripted moment that reduced Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards to helpless laughter during a live post-match interview, after the Brazilian forward scored twice in four minutes to seal Manchester United’s Champions League comeback victory over Roma.

Cunha’s double completed the turnaround, but the celebrations came at a cost. He removed his shirt while sprinting towards the home supporters after his winning goal, earning a yellow card, then picked up a second in added time to leave United with ten men.

High spirits intact, Cunha sat down with Carragher, Kate Abdo, Richards and Thierry Henry for a studio interview. When Richards — a former Manchester City defender — asked about the shirtless celebration and remarked on his physique, saying “You’re in good shape, eh? You been going to the gym?”, Cunha replied with a deadpan “Yeah, I did” before adding: “Thank you, thank you. My wife needs me to be good.”

The studio erupted. Carragher’s booming laugh rang out, while Richards buried his face on the desk and had to audibly exhale before composing himself as Abdo stepped in to continue the interview.

On the celebration itself, Cunha was candid about the chaos of the moment. “I think this is too much Brazilian, no? I think I always dreamed of having this celebration, to be honest,” he said. “When I went, I saw the fans. It was a bit tricky because it was in front of the Roma fans’ section. Then I don’t know if it’s Roma fans or our fans, and then I felt like if I jump, ‘oh my God, it will be tricky!’ But yeah, I’m happy because they celebrated me, and it was a very beautiful moment.”

Cunha also used the occasion to call for a sustained shift in United’s performances. “I think we need to change. After this hard moment, we tried everything and nothing more than a night like today — Champions League and with a comeback, as we did,” he said. “I think the second half was a real Manchester United team, with all the passion, all the duels — everything you can show on the pitch. I think we need to do more and more of these kinds of things, and I hope this will be a beautiful comeback for this season.”