Manchester United made yet another comeback victory against the Italian outfit by defeating them with a 3-2 scoreline. It was one of the best matches of the day’s group fixtures and it made the headlines that night.
Gian Gasperini’s boys knew that Manchester United was in bad shape and wanted to make a strong statement against them in front of their own fans. After United’s defeat against Leicester, all the pressure was on Solskjaer and his players to perform, and boy they grew into the match with some sort of terrific energy.
Atalanta started really well and had a good amount of possession in the opening 10 minutes. Their first striker came in the 15th minute through Mario Pasalic. Atalanta was really clever in the build-up to this goal. A quick free take was taken and Muriel ran down the right flank before placing it to Zappacosta.
COMEBACK: COMPLETE ✔️#MUFC | #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 20, 2021
The Italian defender then placed a dangerous low cross into the box which Pasalic hit past David De Gea to strike the first blood for Atalanta. Manchester United got their first sight on goal in the 20th minute as Fred’s low shot was saved by Palomino.
Atalanta totally dominated United and didn’t let them stay with the ball for much time. Their high pressing technique proved to be too much for Manchester United’s players as they were unable to hold the ball for long and made a number of cheap passes.
Atalanta then came back again to score their second and shock the entire Old Trafford stadium. This time it was the former Juventus center-back Merih Demiral who scored in the 28th minute of the game. Koopmeiners swung in a great corner which was poorly dealt by the United defenders. Merih Dermral was easily able to head it into the left-hand corner past De Gea.
United had their bright mins just before half-time but was unable to beat down a very resilient and confident Atalanta.
The Old Trafford was hailing with boos as the half-time whistle blew and Man United players swiftly ran towards the tunnel. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a big job in making his players believe in themselves and make a strong comeback in the second half.
Man United players made sure that this second-half will be one of their best. They started strongly and made Atlanta sit back and feel their own tactics on themselves.
Just three minutes into the second half, Solskjaer’s men had their brightest moment of the game. Scott McTominay picked up Cristiano Ronaldo who managed to stay onside and hit a shot which Musso saved. Rashford got the chance to hit the rebound but he hit it wide.
In the 53rd minute, United struck their first goal and made a statement to Atalanta. Zappacosta played out a poor pass and it reached Fernandes in the middle and the Portuguese made full use of it as he laid it on to Marcus Rashford who curled it into the far post to make it 1-2.
Just five minutes after the first goal, Manchester United produced yet another glorious moment as Mason Greenwood hit the post.
300 – Manchester United have scored their 300th goal under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in all competitions, with Marcus Rashford scoring both this milestone and the first under him. Bookends. pic.twitter.com/2hlyPPRjCs
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 20, 2021
Atalanta was unable to deal with United’s quick attacks and was kept on the back foot. They hardly disturbed De Gea until the 71st minute where the Spanish goalkeeper made a superb double save to deny Zapata.
Manchester United then had their equalizer and it was fully deserved. After a poor corner from Man United was pushed away by the Atalanta defenders, Sancho received the ball at the right and serves a good cross into the box.
Cavani flicks it towards the middle as Atalanta center-back Lovato fails to clear it and it reaches Harry Maguire. The English center-back hit a perfectly timed shot into the corner. That goal breathed life into the players and the fans as they believed that their team can win this one.
And the winning goal came in the 81st minute and yet another time our hero came to our rescue. It was Cristiano Ronaldo and his vintage header won it for Manchester United. It was Shaw’s inch-perfect cross that also deserves plaudits.
Yes! The Theater Of Dreams is on fire! We are alive! We are Man. United and we never give up! This is Old Trafford! 🔴⚪️⚫️ 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/3rsmOBpS8H
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 20, 2021
The goal opened the roof of Old Trafford and made the fans go berserk. Solskjaer was delighted, the players were delighted and the match got his deserved winner.
It was a nail-biting game and it certainly saved Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Manager’s words after the match:
“I thought we played well in the first half but two chances for them, two goals and that has to stop. We’ve got a habit of doing this at this club but in the first half I thought we played well – they never stopped believing and kept going. We need to defend better – I know that – because we are playing against very good teams in the next few weeks.”
“At half‑time I said: ‘Make sure we get the next goal, because then we win the game.’ As long as we don’t concede I was pretty sure we would win the game. It was just about taking chances.”
What’s next for Manchester United:
Man United now faces Liverpool on Sunday which will certainly be the toughest test to date in this season’s Premier League title race. Liverpool is in great shape and is just one point behind the table-toppers Chelsea. The man who will be waiting to feast on Solskjaer’s men is Mohamed Salah. He is on fire at this moment.
Klopp will be taking lessons from United’s win against Atalanta and that brings in more pressure on Man United to return back to winning ways in the Premier League. They need points if they want to linger in the top four and Solskjaer and his players will be aiming for that.
Get ready for another nail-biting match this weekend.
