Ronaldo Rescues United – Again

Mancheser United travelled to Bergamo, Italy to play Atalanta BC this afternoon/evening at Gewiss Stadium. Champions League Group F is still hotly contested, with United coming in top of the group on 6 points while Atalanta were level-second with 4. Both sides would have been eyeing a victory beforehand here. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was desperate for a convincing win to build off the victory over Tottenham at the weekend, while the Italian side probably smelled a little blood in the water. Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini and their collective players knew we’ve been in poor form recently, and if they could manage to beat United in the Champions League it would go down as one of the most famous nights in the club’s history.

The energy and intensity of the local crowd was matched by the Atalanta players from the get-go though, and it was clear that this was going to be a very tough match for the Red Devils. United did a get the first real chance of the match though, via a deflected shot from Scott McTominay that hit the post. Atalanta grew into the game though, and their Colombian striker Duvan Zapata was causing a lot of problems for the back line with his physical style of play. He was able to consistently hold off United’s defenders and keep the ball while his teammates ran forward, and on several occasions he even created chances for himself.

United were undone just 12 minutes in after Atalanta was allowed far too much time on the ball around the edge of the box. Striker Josip Iličić was found by a neat pass along the ground from Zapata, and he struck the ball along the ground towards keeper David De Gea’s goal. De Gea’s vision appeared to be blocked by another Atalanta player in front of him, and the ball squirted underneath him and into the back of the net. It was a very soft goal to concede due to the lack of power on the shot. It must be pointed out that the Atalanta player blocking De Gea’s vision was probably in an offside position, but VAR reviewed it and the goal stood. It’s true the offside player didn’t touch the shot as it went through, but given his role in blocking the keeper’s vision I think he was contributing to the play. In that situation, the flag should have gone up. Still, the Red Devils were in a familiar position this season, down 1-0 early to inferior opposition.

Atalanta could have easily had a second goal on half an hour when Paul Pogba played a dangerous backwards pass in the air towards De Gea, which was seized upon Zapata. The ball fell to him in acres of space inside the United box, but he took a shot just as Ivorian center-back Eric Bailly was arriving on scene. Bailly threw his body into the path of the shot, where it the top of his shoulder and flew over the bar. An heroic block from Bailly that was as valuable as a goal. VAR checked for handball, but no penalty was awarded.

United found an equalizer in first-half stoppage time though, and of course it came from none other than Mr. Champions League himself, Cristiano Ronaldo. United won a throw-in in the attacking third, and it was moved around quickly in midfield before Bruno Fernandes ran into the box in front of his man. He was found by Mason Greenwood via a crisp pass along the ground into his feet. Bruno then played a backheel onto the onrushing Ronaldo, who struck it sweetly into the left side of the net. It was a brilliant bit of team play, and it was a good finish to cap off our best move of the match. Ronaldo simply cannot be stopped in the Champions League. Bruno probably could have a had a shot himself given that he had beaten his marker, but he definitely made the right decision by leaving it behind for his fellow countryman.

At halftime it was 1-1 and although it had been a rough start, I felt that United would capitalize on their sudden momentum into the second half. I was wrong. Despite Bruno having a shot early on blocked, it was the Italian side that took the lead again, and this time Zapata could not be stopped. A ball was played over the top to him, and he found space between Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Bailly to run into. Harry Maguire (also on a shocker) couldn’t get over in time to close him down, and Zapata tapped it past De Gea from close range for 2-1. Initially, the goal was ruled out for offside, but after a very lengthy VAR check the offside call was overturned and Gewiss Stadium erupted into celebration again. This was quite an unprofessional goal to concede. Several United players were just stood there with the arms raised calling for offside, all while Zapata was in on goal. Ok yes the call was questionable, but questionable calls happen all the time! The players have to be switched on enough to go and clear the ball anyway, even if they think it’s offside. Really poor to see from an effort point of view. Play until you hear a whistle – it’s as simple as that.

Edinson Cavani replaced a largely-ineffective Marcus Rashford soon after the 2nd goal, which didn’t really change much. Nemanja Matic came on for Pogba shortly after that, which was probably 20 minutes too late. Pogba needed to be off much sooner, given how poor he played. Atalanta continued having the better of the chances, and I thought United were heading towards defeat in northern Italy. More substitutions were made on 85 minutes, with Jadon Sancho and Donny van de Beek (VDB) coming on as well. And finally, a positive effect was felt. Those two contributed more in 10 minutes of play than Pogba did in 70+. Why they both weren’t on earlier is a mystery to me as both contributed to the late equalizer.

Sancho and VDB combined well down the left side, with VDB eventually getting a cross in along the ground. It was only partly cleared by Atalanta, and the ball fell to Ronaldo on the left side of the edge of the penalty box. He dribbled parallel to the goal for a bit before finding Greenwood, who juggled it a bit in the air haphazardly before getting it back to Ronaldo. Ronaldo hit it on the volley first time low and with power diagonally across the box, and the ball went under Atalanta keeper Juan Musso at the far corner for 2-2 in the 91st minute. Unbelievable. Ronaldo is simply other-worldly. You can keep him quiet for 88 minutes but if you slip up in just two of those minutes, he can hurt you. Both of his goals were well-taken but the finish from outside the box on the 2nd goal was truly stunning. United would be bottom of this Champions League group if not for him.

VDB then almost won it from United from close range at a tight angle just minutes later, but Musso produced a fine save to deny him. The final whistle went and the points were shared. United still lead Group F, but they are level on points with Villarreal at 7 apiece. Atalanta sit 3rd with 5 points. United are still in the driver’s seat to win the group, but the match against Villarreal in a few weeks’ time in Spain is now the pivotal match in the group. Win, and we’re essentially through to the knockouts. Lose, and we stand a very good chance of missing out on the next round and being forced to play in the semi-dreadful Europa League.

Needless to say, no one was convinced by this performance. Yes we got a point away from home in the Champions League, but it was an awful bloody struggle to get it. OGS got his tactics wrong – again – and we had to be rescued by two moments of brilliance at the end of each half. The back three didn’t work today, and who knows how long OGS would have stuck with it if he wasn’t forced into a change by an injury? It’s clear that Gasperini and his staff watched our performance against Tottenham and figured out a way to stop us from hitting them on the counter attack. It was a simple move on paper, really. He just told his back line to play further back towards their goal than Tottenham’s back line did, and we couldn’t get any runners in behind them like we did at the weekend. They also knew – again – when to press us and who to press, and that was usually Maguire. His poor positioning was directly responsible for their second goal. I think he needs a benching for a match or two to get his head right because he is not playing up to his full abilities.

Gasperini needs to be credited for making a tactical switch at halftime as well. He assigned a normally more attack-minded midfielder to instead man-mark Bruno, meaning he was to follow Bruno around whenever Atalanta were off the ball and make it impossible for him to be the playmaker he normally likes to be. For most of the half, it worked. Pogba was having an absolute shocker of a match and with Bruno man-marked, we had no one to create for us in midfield. We couldn’t keep consistent possession, and even when we did manage to gain a foothold, the ball was promptly surrendered again. Again, I cannot a recall a match in which I have seen Pogba play so poorly.

All in all, Atalanta won this match from a tactical perspective. It was domination by them for the majority of the time. They had better chances. However, United were more clinical. We only had maybe 3-4 shots on target the whole match, but we made 2 of them count thanks to the magic of Ronaldo. However, this style of play is unsustainable. You cannot give your opponent the lead twice in a game and expect to get something out of it every time, because you won’t. I am gravely concerned about our defending, in particular the lack of communication along a back line that was so consistent last season. Seeing Raphael Varane go off injured again was a large black mark on the match as well, because he is now probably unavailable for the Manchester Derby on Saturday.

I do think it’s time for OGS and Manchester United to move on from each other. He keeps making the same mistakes over and over again, and there is still no clear style of play. He refuses to bench out-of-form players, and he routinely makes either the wrong substitution or waits too long to make the substitution altogether. I understand we need a defensive midfielder, but rollercoaster form like this is not acceptable given the talent we have. We need a manager with a solid vision for the system he wants to implement and a clear path for how to do it. I appreciate everything OGS has done for this club both as a player and manager, but I do feel that his unwillingness to make changes and inability to make effective changes means that he has taken us as far as he can take us. If the City result is negative, I can see his time being over.

Man of the Match = Eric Bailly. Several key blocks and tackles won in crucial areas, coupled with a magnificent work-rate. Best player on the pitch by a mile wearing red.

United return to Old Trafford on Saturday for the Manchester Derby. I’m not optimistic. Maybe we get a few moments of magic like we did today, but keeping Manchester City from scoring will be a very tall order indeed.

United Fight Back from Two Goals Down to Win Against Atalanta

Manchester United resumed their Champions League campaign today at Old Trafford against Italian side Atalanta. There was a lot of tension in the red half of Manchester going into this match, given United’s frankly poor run of form in the past few matches. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew that a loss in this match would leave the Red Devils at the bottom of CL Group F, and moreover it would likely mean that he would not be employed as manager at this club for much longer.

The match was fairly tepid for the first 10 minutes or so, with both sides trying to feel each other out. Worryingly for the Red Devils though it was Atalanta who got the opener via striker Mario Pasalic, and the culprit once again was lackadaisical defending. Atalanta played the ball forward and worked it around a bit, before the ball was played to an onrushing David Zappacosta on the right wing. He had come forward from his right back position and ran towards the end line before playing a cross along the ground into the path of Pasalic, who tapped in from close range. Keeper David De Gea could do nothing about it. United center-back Victor Lindelof did not do enough to prevent that cross from going in, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay were to blame for not picking up and marking Pasalic’s run. Chaos at the back led to 1-0 to the Italians.

United were pegged back yet again, but this time from a set piece. Even more worryingly than the first goal, this was probably about as simple of a set piece goal to concede. Midfielder Teun Koopmeiners played a dangerous high cross into the area, and center-back Merih Demiral rose to head in, again from close range with De Gea stranded. It was atrocious marking from Harry Maguire, who conceded a goal from a set piece for the 2nd match in a row. Left back Luke Shaw was also partially at fault, but Maguire has to use his strength to get his body across the runner in that situation. He just sort of flopped himself at the cross and he didn’t do nearly enough to get Demiral’s way. Atalanta were 2-0 up and you couldn’t say they didn’t deserve it. Better chances and better finishing, simple as.

But as bad as all of that was, it oddly did not feel like United were out of it. They were generally playing with more industry, and the chances created were actually fairly dangerous. The finishing in the first half was really bad. Brazilian midfielder Fred had two golden chances to score, and even though he is not known as a finisher, he really should have done better with both his chances. The newly-revitalized Marcus Rashford also saw a shot from close range hit the cross-bar just before half time. Atalanta were consistently unable to deal with our pacey forwards getting in behind their back line, we just couldn’t finish anything. The chorus of boos from the fans at Old Trafford at the halftime whistle was deserved, but again you felt that in terms of attacking play we had the right idea.

The atmosphere of the stadium changed in the second half though. I think the collective wisdom of the 75,000+ in attendance shifted a little as the second half got underway. Of course, no matter how bad your team is playing, you always support them. You can show discontent when warranted, but with 45 minutes left and the amount of talent in this squad, I think the fans realized that this was far from over. And despite the results, OGS is a club legend and no one wants to see him feel. The fans really contributed to this comeback this afternoon, and the importance of their role cannot be understated. The supporters in the Stretford End in particular should take a bow.

The second half could not have been more different than the first. The Red Devils flew out of the gate and were running at Atalanta from the first whistle. They were really struggling to deal with our pressing in midfield and couldn’t maintain possession. United got their first goal via Rashford on 53 minutes, and it was a run in behind the Atalanta defense that undid them. The ball was won high up the pitch and played to Bruno Fernandes, who played a simply exquisite pass around the back of the defenders and into the path of Rashford’s run. The angle was tight, but Rashford found probably the only angle he could score from with their keeper Juan Musso stranded. No celebration from Rashford due to losing still, but Old Trafford erupted. That goal really started it all. You could see the belief in not only the fans, but in the players themselves. Everyone knew there was a chance now.

To really make it clear just how ripe the fruit was for the taking, United were saved for the umpteenth time by the heroics of De Gea. He produced a fine double save from forwards Ruslan Malinovskyi and Duvan Zapata, and you felt that those saves were as good as a goal. United would have been down 3-1 had either shot gone in, and a 3rd goal for Atalanta in the second half would have truly sunk the ship.

And it was United that kept the pressure on, with Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini making substitutes to try and relieve the pressure on their back line. The pressure may have abated a little bit, but United won a corner that eventually led to the equalizer on 75 minutes. The initial ball from the corner was cleared by Atalanta, but United recycled possession in the right channel and Bruno played another cross into the box. The ball was flicked on by substitute Edinson Cavani, and fell directly into the path of Maguire. Maguire had stayed up from the initial corner instead of running back to defend, and that decision paid off. He struck the ball very sweetly with his right foot and it rolled into the corner of the goal to the keeper’s right. A very good finish from a guy who is not known for his finishing with his feet, and he made amends for his earlier error. A fantastic equalizer, and a hell of a time to score your first ever goal in the Champions League.

The winner came on 81 minutes, and of course it came from none other than the talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo had been kind of quiet this match, but any time he is on the pitch he is a threat to score. He is simply too good in the penalty area to be forgotten about or ignored. Shaw played a sublime curling cross from the left channel into the box, with both Ronaldo and Cavani in position to make a play. Ronaldo took an almighty leap and seemed to hang in the air longer than the laws of physics would allow, and he used every ounce of muscle in his neck and shoulders to get good contact on the ball. He headed it down and away past Musso for what would eventually be the winner. A truly magical moment for this squad, OGS, the fans inside Old Trafford, and fans worldwide. No matter what you do, never, ever, count out Ronaldo.

United then held on for final ten minutes plus stoppage time. Atalanta had a lot of worrisome possession, but could not forge many clear chances. The final whistle blew and United secured yet another famous comeback victory on a magical European night in Manchester. The Red Devils now sit top of CL Group F, 2 points clear of 2nd place with 3 matches left in the group stage. Still anyone’s group, but United would have been bottom with a loss today.

While OGS has undoubtedly relieved some pressure under his seat, there are still many issues that need to be noted here. We were poor in the first half tactically, no two ways about it. Our unconventional 4-2-4 was smothered by Atalanta’s 3-4-3 in midfield. We cannot consistently defend set pieces. We are mentally far too complacent when we expect to win and teams have punished us for it. But credit must be given to OGS for fixing a broken situation. Whatever he said in that locker room at halftime, it clearly worked. Bringing on Cavani and Paul Pogba was also the correct move, as it allowed us to be more attacking and better in possession. I think the subs were secondary though to how the team’s pressing improved in the second half. When we are alert and effectively pressing the opposition, there aren’t many teams who can play around it. OGS and his staff deserve credit for driving that point home. But if there are to be more struggles this season, you can bet that mental complacency will be at the heart of it.

It is true that United may have lost against better opposition today, but you can only play the team put in front of you, and Atalanta provided an almighty test of the collective will and resolve of the club today. A much sterner test awaits on Sunday when hated rivals Liverpool come to Old Trafford for a Premier League showdown. United will have to defend with their lives and also be much more clinical in front of goal than they were today. We have the talent to beat any side in the world right now, but our team mentality and tactics must be correctly aligned or it will be a long afternoon indeed.

Glory Glory Man United!