RONALDO’S RELENTLESS DESIRE
WHEN results have gone awry for United recently the focus at full-time has often been on Ronaldo and his reaction to those disappointments. His frustration has been impossible to hide against Aston Villa, Everton and Leicester, but that’s only because he is so desperate to win.
So when things go right it’s only fair to point that out. He was furious when the Reds conceded twice in the first half but upped his game after the break. His towering header to turn the tie around was classic Ronaldo, the kind of athleticism that still makes him such a threat at 36.
His knee-slide celebration was in almost the exact spot from which he roared to the heavens against Villarreal and he is almost singlehandedly keeping the side afloat in the Champions League at the moment.
When the final whistle blew he sank to his knees and let out a ferocious roar.
Just after scoring, Ronaldo saw Jadon Sancho breaking down the right and burst into an electric sprint to try and make up ground for the cross. It was a sign of the desire and determination that still marks him out. It’s why he’s been so angry lately.
RASHFORD’S RETURN TO FORM
IF there’s an obvious weakness in Rashford’s game it’s the inconsistency in his finishing and he probably left the Old Trafford pitch in the firsthalf wondering how he hadn’t scored, given the chances that came his way.
But he rarely gets too consumed by the chances that have come and gone and when he was presented with the opportunity to get United back in the game early in the second half he took it with an assurance that suggested those missed chances had happened to someone else.
When the 23-year-old was withdrawn with a quarter of the game to go there was some bemused looks among supporters, but he is a player still on the comeback trail and had taken a knock to his ankle five minutes earlier.
He took his place on the bench, however, and there was no doubt he had been United’s most dangerous forward. The finishing might not always have been there but the movement and the runs were generally excellent. Solskjaer has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal in forward areas, but right now it feels like Rashford has to be inked in on the left given the form he’s shown on his return from injury. The rest has evidently done him the world of good.
■SET-PIECE SHAMBLES
UNITED hired Eric Ramsay as a set-piece coach in the summer and while his remit will be as much about attacking routines as stopping goals, it doesn’t look great that this side have shipped four goals from set-pieces recently.
Aston Villa’s late winner came from a corner, while Leicester scored from a corner and a free-kick on Saturday. Last night it was another corner that led to Atalanta’s second goal.
The decision to have Luke Shaw marked Merih Demiral looked a confusing one, given Shaw was giving away two inches in height, and the delivery was into an area where David de Gea is never going to venture.
Demiral needed only to turn the header on target to make sure of a goal.