MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United fans attempted to disrupt the Champions League match against Roma on Tuesday by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch at Old Trafford before their team staged an improbable come-from-behind win.
United were down 2-0 inside 18 minutes, with the protest having been preplanned and flagged on social media earlier in the day, but the hosts came storming back to win the game 3-2 and give manager Michael Carrick a much-needed boost.
Carrick's side went into Tuesday's game on a nine-game winless run and was quickly behind against Roma when Matìas Soulè struck after 11 minutes.
Seven minutes later, Donyell Malen made it 2-0 with a penalty before Bruno Fernandes restored some hope to the home fans with a spot kick of his own to cut the lead in half.
Matheus Cunha then added two more goals late in the second half to complete the remarkable turnaround and help United come back from a two-goal deficit in the Champions League for the first time since October 2021.
Cunha's celebration after his second goal earned him the first of two quick bookings, but the relief was as palpable as the delight as United held on for just their third win of the campaign.
The protest ended up causing only a brief delay, with just a small number of balls being thrown from the Stretford End. They were quickly removed by players. Green and gold balloons also cascaded down on the field before the match.
The actions by Old Trafford fans were not nearly as disruptive as a similar demonstration by Celtic fans last year when trying to bring about a change in their club's hierarchy.
United supporters have tried in vain for years to force regime change at their club with numerous protests against American owners the Glazer family.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, minority owner, has also come under criticism in the face of the club's on-field problems and increased ticket prices.
Ratcliffe, the owner of petrochemical giant INEOS, assumed control of the soccer operations after buying an initial 25% stake for $1.3 billion in 2024. Since then, the 20-time English champion has fired two coaches, while Carrick's position is under intense scrutiny after a troubled start to the season.
The Glazers have been unpopular among fans since their leveraged buyout of the club in 2005.
The protest was timed for 21 minutes to mark 21 years of the Glazers' ownership.
Manchester United have had a historically bad start to the 2026-27 campaign and were in 17th place in the Premier League going into Tuesday's match.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.