United now need to make this a turning
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer walked down the touchline with United 2-0 down at home at half-time in the Champions League and applauded the Stretford End on his way to the dressing room.
There had been moments in the first 45 minutes when frustration had boiled over and the whistle to greet the end of the first half had been met with a smattering of jeers.
But as Solskjaer and the players headed for the tunnel the Stretford End was belting out ‘Red Army’. The second half began amid a similar cacophony of noise and it set the tone for an epic European night in M16.
Solskjaer had seen this coming, however. Entering this game with just two wins in seven games and knives being sharpened, the Norwegian had spoken to his players about harnessing the support that was always going to flow forth from the stands. Ideally, they wanted a fast start to fuel the embers, but when Atalanta led 2-0 inside half an hour the fire was nearly out.
But Solskjaer had said before the match that ‘if we struggle I know they will back the team’ and how right he was.
It might have helped that Marcus Rashford scored eight minutes into the second half. From that point on the noise was unrelenting and so was the United pressure. For those looking for subtle clues as to how the Reds turned the game on its head and how they can build on it going forward, there was little to be gleaned. They simply played with desperation for 45 minutes and that, together with the atmosphere inside Old Trafford, overwhelmed an Atalanta side who had looked so calm and collected in the first half.
When Harry Maguire equalised there was an inevitability that a winner would follow and it was almost as inevitable that it would be Cristiano Ronaldo who got it. By now the noise was deafening. This had turned into a famous European night.
Now, Solskjaer and his players have to make sure this isn’t a false dawn, a flash-in-the-pan in an ultimately disappointing season.
A performance that felt reminiscent
of so many of United’s comebacks under Sir Alex Ferguson has at least stopped the bleeding for United. The second half was all about momentum and tempo, there was simply no let-up in the attacking and the dam had to break.
United can’t start that way on Sunday against Liverpool and they don’t want to be chasing the game every week. Concerns remain, notably a defence that has kept one clean sheet in 20 games.
Momentum can be a football club’s best friend, however. Thanks to an electric 45 minutes United now have it. If this is to be the start of the recovery then they can’t afford to let it slip again.
This is still a daunting run for United. Liverpool will be a huge test and there are games against Tottenham and City before the international break.
But at half-time the pressure on Solskjaer was heading towards the intolerable. This result has eased that sensation. With the quality of this squad there’s no reason it can’t be a turning point, but there’s more to be done yet.