He’s the Ron to save Reds time and again
WHAT and where would United be without Cristiano Ronaldo? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might not still be in the dugout and the Reds might be on the verge of relegation to the Europa League again.
For most of the night, the Atalanta supporters in the curva nord drowned out any noise from the away end. In the final minutes, all you could hear were the euphoric United supporters and it was Ronaldo’s name they chanted uproariously.
As he jogged towards the tunnel at fulltime, the Atalanta fans started to whistle Ronaldo and he nodded approvingly. His exit was only delayed by the media duty that is an obligation for the man of the match. Ronaldo bade farewell by putting his finger to his lips. He has denied those supporters in Manchester and now Bergamo.
An equaliser in added time of the firsthalf and an equaliser in added time of the secondhalf rather typified United’s night. A point was always a positive against the Italian innovators of Gian Piero Gasperini and United’s Group F situation is not as dire had they lost.
For the eighth time this season the Reds conceded first and for the second time they trailed twice. Just like at Leicester, their captain was culpable but they were not beaten. Their powers of recovery owed much to Ronaldo.
Tottenham still seems to be a false dawn. Losing to United is a sackable offence these days and the follow-up performance was rife with individual errors and a lack of faith in the back three system Solskjaer had intended to get him through to the November internationals. Harry Maguire and Paul Pogba, United’s two most expensive up-front signings, were Europa League standard and that is where the Reds are still in mild peril of heading back to. They are first in Group F on seven points – the same amount as their next opponents, Villarreal. Atalanta are on five.
Eric Bailly, in just his second appearance of the season, was the glue in a defence pulled apart by Atalanta time and again and just as instrumental as Ronaldo. Whatever the formation against City, Bailly’s place has to be assured whether or not Raphael Varane is unavailable. The back three experiment was abandoned after 38 minutes in Bergamo, a consequence of Varane’s enforced withdrawal. The upside was the bold choice of replacement, Mason Greenwood, fashioned the opening Ronaldo equalised from and he teed up Ronaldo for his second. Greenwood’s immediate pass through to Bruno Fernandes for the first was possibly the standout feature of a stunning equalising goal.
Still, with Maguire in this form, an additional centre-half is essential and
United got short-term gain but longterm pain. Maguire, almost always off the pace, was slow to advance and played Duvan Zapata onside before he vainly lunged at him, risking a penalty and expulsion. Zapata beat David de Gea after an inordinate VAR check.
It was a night De Gea cracked, too, conceding softly and refusing to leave his line to engage Zapata. De Gea has bailed out United enough times this season and only Ronaldo and Bailly endeavoured to return the favour.
Just as the stadium announcer prompted groans from the ultras by confirming four minutes of stoppage-time in the first half, Fernandes ghosted into the area and backheeled for Ronaldo to lash in his fourth Champions League goal. He now has five in four.
Back on Italian soil, Ronaldo treated the ultras to his signature celebration at a ground he scored at on his first visit with Juventus. Gasperini, the Atalanta coach,
United’s powers of recovery owed much to Ronaldo
Samuel Luckhurst
appreciatively patted him as they headed towards the tunnel at the pause, a laudable sign of mutual respect.
United will have to think twice before indulging Pogba again. No player needed a performance more than the midfielder and he failed to perform. His dawdling on the ball – an unexplainable trait – played the Reds into trouble in their own area and when he turned attack into defence on one occasion he hesitated about whether to back-track. It said it all Pogba was hauled off over Scott McTominay, fortunate not to see a second yellow card as Solskjaer embarked on another escapologist act.
Whether it is sacking a manager, tolerating Pogba’s revelling in said sacking or his wantaway habits, or sanctioning online trolling in support of the player, United are too far gone with Pogba. Solskjaer has taken the opposite approach to Jose Mourinho, despite having the will to drop him, but the circus will only end when Pogba leaves town. Probably in May.
Those in the curva nord wore either black and blue while the unsheltered away section at the opposite end was decorated by dozens of red, white and black tricolor flags, the dilapidated design a throwback to United’s visits to Italy from yesteryear. Those who stayed for Ronaldo’s late leveller enjoyed their lock-in.
Smoke drifted into the night sky to commemorate Josip Ilicic’s side-footed opening goal and a trio of local journalists brazenly celebrated.
The Gewiss Stadium houses fewer supporters than Old Trafford’s north stand but its compact setting made for an atmosphere worthy of an Italian team and fuelled Atalanta’s belief in the second half as they attacked the curva nord.
United were never fazed by the whistles and jeers. Retaining the back three formation was a logical approach to try and sustain momentum - ended by Varane’s rushed return - and the limited number of changes a reflection of the game’s importance.
The gasping Gasperini struggled to arrest Atalanta’s anxiety amid United’s early onslaught and McTomimay’s deflected shot trickled against the post in the fourth minute.
Atalanta’s lead was a minor travesty and the addition of Greenwood to the attack burst a dam that was never watertight. The timing of Ronaldo’s strike in the 45th minute ought to have deflated Atalanta but they were spurred on by their ultras and victory was in sight.
Then Ronaldo denied them again.
RONALDO’S RESCUE ACTS
AFTER Cristiano Ronaldo’s stunning volley to once again drag United out of the mud against Atalanta the question most people were posing was where they be without Ronaldo?
Probably already out of the Champions League is a good place to start. United are hardly playing with authority in Europe this season and they’ve needed Ronaldo to keep them alive in this competition heading into matchday five.
At 2-1 down to Atalanta in injury-time the Reds faced the prospect of being eliminated from this competition later this month, but once Ronaldo timed his intervention to perfection.
After scoring a 95th-minute winner against Villarreal, an 81st-minute winner against Atalanta two weeks ago, he now struck in the 91st minute to earn United a point they scarcely deserved.
Ronaldo is not the problem at United and never has been. It was simply a case of adapting how to play to suit his style in attack. What this side have is a guarantee of goals, but right now they need to give him more still, because they can’t rely on him to work miracles every week. Or at least, they shouldn’t rely on him to work miracles every week.
DEFENSIVE DISASTERS
THE confidence in the United defence should have been sky-high after their most assured performance of the season at the weekend.
A second clean sheet of the campaign was earned with composure and quality against Tottenham. David de Gea wasn’t tested and the back three were in complete control throughout.
But fast-forward three days and in Italy United were back to their absolute worst at the back. They weren’t helped by the injury to Raphael Varane in the first half and if he’s forced to miss the derby on Saturday it could yet be a terminal bit of bad luck for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Once Varane had gone off and Solskjaer moved to a back four the defence was catastrophic.
SOLSKJAER’S FUTURE
THE one thing this result does do is add to the shade over Solskjaer’s future. At 2-1 down it looked like it could be curtains for the Norwegian, but a draw isn’t a disaster, even if the performance was underwhelming.
A win would have probably kept him safe even beyond this weekend but it now feels like the City game could yet be decisive. Solskjaer is clinging on at United, there is no doubt about that.
The 90 minutes against Atalanta exposed some flaws once again, but by the end of the evening he was breathing a sigh of relief.