Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goal saves a dramatic point for Manchester United in the Champions League
Josip Iličić scored the first goal of the game in the 12th minute. Duván Zapata’s cutback fell to the Slovenian on the edge of the area, and he swept the ball into the net.
Although the Italians seemed to have a better chance of doubling their lead, Cristiano Ronaldo equalized just on the stroke of half-time, capping United’s best move of the first half to restore equality.
But Zapata’s second-half goal rebuilt Atalanta’s lead and, after constant pressure from United, Ronaldo scored his second goal of the game in the 91st minute to rescue a point.
With this point, with two games left in the league, the group is even, with United in the lead and with many chances of passing thanks, in large part, to Ronaldo.
After the match, Ronaldo said his team had been “a bit lucky” to draw against Atalanta.
“It was a difficult match, I know that when we play in Bergamo it is always difficult, but we believed until the end and I am very happy,” declared a BT Sport.
“We never give up, we believe until the end, it’s a good result for us. The beginning was tough, we knew that Atalanta was going to put a lot of pressure, they have a fantastic coach, when I played for Juventus it was always difficult to play against them. At the same time In the end we were a little lucky, but that’s football.”
“We still have to improve, we have different players, a different system, we have to adapt to each other, but it will take time. We have time to improve and be better.”
Round trip
With Group F difficult to separate after three games, United’s trip to Bergamo came with major ramifications.
An impressive 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in the Premier League had eased some pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but progression to the next round in the Champions League could be vital if he is to remain in the position.
And it was almost the perfect start for the Norwegian, as Scott McTominay’s early deflected shot trickled tantalizingly towards the Atalanta goal, before hitting the post with the goalkeeper unguarded.
And United paid for it minutes later, when the hosts took the lead thanks to Iličić.
His shot from inside the area went almost straight into David De Gea’s goal, and the Spaniard will be disappointed that the ball was able to slip out from under him.
After the important first goal, Atalanta continued to appear more dangerous in attack.
Zapata had a couple of chances, while the penalty requests from the locals came to nothing, even after the controls of the video assistant referee.
And they paid for it in added time, before the end of the first half, when United made their best attacking move of the game.
A good combination between Mason Greenwood, Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes opened up the Atalanta defense, and a delicate backheel from Fernandes left the ball ready for Ronaldo to slot into the goal.
It was the Portuguese’s 138th goal in the Champions League and his fourth in four games in Europe since his return to United.
After the break, and with Solskjaer’s words ringing in their ears, the United players were in high spirits.
A more intricate play by Fernandes led to an opening just 12 meters from the goal, but an excellent block by José Luis Palomino kept the tie.
Palomino intervened shortly after at the other end of the field, assisting Zapata so that he could put Atalanta ahead again.
The Colombian striker received a long pass from Palomino and, with United captain Harry Maguire claiming offside, Zapata scored, although the offside flag was raised.
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However, after a lengthy VAR review, which lasted two minutes and six seconds, the goal was finally awarded, sparking jubilation among the home fans.
United, needing a goal to get back into the game, pressed and pressed, bringing on offensive substitutes in the hope of turning the game around.
Although the game seemed to be slipping away, Ronaldo once again came to United’s rescue, scoring from the edge of the area to equalize just minutes from time.
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Fuente: edition.cnn.com
2024-01-03 09:01:01
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