Atalanta caresses the solitary top of group F of the Champions League for more than an hour, with a great match at Old Trafford, the ‘theater of dreams’. To awaken it is a Manchester United in crisis, yes, but full of champions. In the lead Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 9 ‘from the end of the head crowns the comeback of the Red Devils, from 0-2 to 3-2.
Pasalic unlocks the first time at Old Trafford and Demiral (replaced by Lovato upon returning from the tunnel) gets his head jumping with his bruised right thigh, but upon returning from the tunnel the comeback trio Rashford-Maguire-Ronaldo has the best of a team in decline throwing in the head that of Solskjaer, able to get out at a distance and with more exchanges at the height.
Atalanta’s departure was immediately fired, despite the many absences. Muriel, Zapata’s substitute, excluded at the start as Pogba, is blocked by Wan-Bissaka (4 ‘) on Ilicic’s side, same fate (10′) for Bruno Fernandes, dampened by Freuler in the long attempt accompanied by Greenwood and Rashford with the complicity of Ronaldo. At the quarter of an hour, the happy intuition of the Slovenian champion finds Zappacosta ready to serve from the back for the split of the Croatian in the small area: it is 0-1. Musso takes care of the advantage, raising Fred’s left-handed blow for a corner to the twentieth, facilitated by Fernandes’ tower on the ball from the bottom of the former Juventus striker. An intermittent forcing, that of home, which on 26 ‘does not scare the visiting goalkeeper, being CR7 too far away, to be frustrated by the peremptory dip of the Turkish international, very decisive in correcting the first corner of Koopmeiners from the right in the 2-0. 4 ‘from the break Muriel ends soft from the line, freed by the Ilicic-Koopmeiners duo, but he is also wrong there: again Fred (44’) only widens the possible halving of the score on the touch of his attacking midfielder, Rashford instead cuts to the right splintering the opposite intersection (46 ‘) on Bruno Fernandes’ fan, this time from the rear.
In the second half the forced change (debut in Europe of the former Hellas) sees the sequela in the center of the defense of Palomino and immediately the double danger Cristiano-Rashford, but on the umpteenth service of Fernandes weigh Musso and the wrong aim. In the eighth, however, the advanced midfielder once Sampdoria intercepts a backward pass from Ilicic opening the platter at the edge of the pole in Rashford that reopens the challenge: it is 1-2. Five minutes and it is the same wood that prevents McTominay’s 2-2 behind Greenwood. The Koopmeiners-Zapata break leads to Maehle’s tiraccio from afar (15 ‘), that Fernandes-Ronaldo (19’), in the middle of the area, forces Musso to smanacciata on the left to cross. On the 26 ‘it is De Gea, with foot and gloves, to oppose the claims of Zapata, launched from the out by Zappacosta, and Malinovskyi from a distance. Wrong goal, 2-2 taken, by the English captain, stationed in front of the far post, taking advantage of Cavani’s veil on the developments of United’s sixth corner ten from 90 ‘. Koopmeiners does not take advantage of Duvan’s back pass and Bruno Fernandes (35 ‘) slams into Musso returning on the left, but CR7 takes the lift called by Show and the remuntada is complete. Bergamaschi, followed by 600 fans, tied at 4 points by Villarreal. Everything is open for qualification for the eighth Champions League.