Atalanta 2-2 Manchester United
A familiar story: Cristiano Ronaldo saves Manchester United in the Champions League. For the third matchday running, the Portugal captain struck late on to earn the Red Devils vital points in Group F – this time with a stoppage-time equaliser in Bergamo.
Ronaldo had already levelled once for the visitors at the end of the first half, but his brilliant strike in the 91st minute added to winning goals against Atalanta and Villarreal at Old Trafford, and kept United top of the group when a damaging defeat was close.
The Premier League side had a relatively bright start to the match at the Gewiss Stadium, showing good energy and trying to disrupt the home side’s tempo with Bruno Fernandes joining Ronaldo in an aggressive press from the front. However, United soon lost their intensity and their leaky defence was again exposed when Josip Ilicic put the Italians ahead after just 15 minutes with a shot which squirmed under David de Gea.
United’ first equaliser came on the stroke of half time and little in their performance suggested such a brilliant goal was forthcoming. A tremendous team move ended when Mason Greenwood’s superb throughball found Fernandes and the Portugal midfielder was again the provider for Ronaldo, using a deft backheel to tee up the talisman and Ronaldo made no mistake with his finish.
Atalanta went 2-1 ten minutes into the second half, cutting United open with ease as Duvan Zapata scored after evading the offside trap. United made a host of changes after the goal, with the likes of Edinson Cavani, Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho all joining the action with little impact before Ronaldo once again proved the difference-maker.
With the clock passing 90 minutes and moving into injury time, Ronaldo seized on a prodded pass from Greenwood on the edge of the box and connected with a sweet right-foot volley to send the ball away from Juan Musso’s dive and into the far bottom corner. The goal took United from 3rd place in the group to 1st place, making it another precious strike for Ronaldo’s fifth goal in this season’s competition.
“I know that when you play against Atalanta in Bergamo it’s always difficult, but we believed until the end and I helped my team get one point and I’m happy,” Ronaldo told BT Sport after the match. “We never give up; we believe until the end and it’s a good result for us I think.
“We knew Atalanta would put on a lot of pressure. They have a fantastic coach; they know what to do all the time on the pitch – I know because when I played for Juventus they were always difficult to play against. But we did our job and defended well; we had a bit of luck when I scored but this is football.”
Group F remains extremely tight, with United and Atalanta both on 7 points and Spaniards Villarreal on 5 points, followed by Young Boys of Switzerland on 3 having beaten United in the opening game. Ronaldo’s men will meet Villarreal in Spain next, with a point seen as crucial to keep matters in their own hands ahead of matchday six.
By Sean Gillen
