Ronaldo saves United; Chelsea, Bayern rule
Red Devils live dangerously before edging out Atalanta
Cristiano Ronaldo capped a rousing comeback as Manchester United edged Atalanta 3-2 in an end-to-end thriller at Old Trafford while holders Chelsea cruised past Malmö and Bayern Munich put in an impressive late cameo against Benfica on another night of Champions League action in Europe.
Ronaldo. the competition’s all-time leading scorer. scored the winner and completed another Manchester United turnaround on Wednesday night, Mario Pašalic and Merih Demiral opened up a 2-0 lead for Atalanta, but there was no stopping United after the break. Marcus Rashford pulled one back and the momentum was really with the hosts when Harry Maguire levelled with 15 to go. A header from Ronaldo finished the job.
Blues on song
Things were far easy for defending champions Chelsea as they romped to a 4-0 win against Malmo in Group H.
In London, Andreas Christensen’s emphatic half-volley, Jorginho penalties in either half and a neat Kai Havertz finish following a rapid counterattack left the holders three points behind group leaders Juventus.
In Group E at Lisbon, a stunning late flourish brought Bayern four goals in 15 minutes to sweep aside Benfica and make it 20 away Champions League matches unbeaten for the German giants. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller both had goals ruled out by VAR before Leroy Sané bent in a free-kick. Substitute Everton then inadvertently turned into his own net, before Sané teed up Lewandowski for a tap-in and buried a cutback for his second.
Perfect record
In St Pertersburg, just as it looked as if Juventurs and hosts Zenit would have to be content with a point apiece, Mattia De Sciglio’s pinpoint cross from the left was expertly headed in by substitute Dejan Kulusevski to keep Juventus’s perfect Group H record intact.