Manchester United vs Atalanta LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow live updates from Old Trafford as Cristiano Ronaldo and co. look to bounce back from defeat at Leicester last weekend
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will doubtless Manchester United’s comeback down to the spirit and soul of the club, and it is true to say that this 3-2 win over Atalanta again showed that this team are at the very least playing for their manager. Cristiano Ronaldo offered yet another late match-winning moment, on another raucous European night.
It was just that this victory was as much down to the willingness of a depleted Atalanta side to persevere with their approach to the point that risk became recklessness. Gian Piero Gasperini’s one-on-one approach gave United countless opportunities, that they were eventually going to take up.
Another truth is that, as bad as this game was at half-time, United probably should have won about 8-2 rather than 3-2 by virtue of the chances created. They missed so many.
Or perhaps that should be 8-3, since David De Gea made yet another crucial and brilliant save from Duvan Zapata with the score at 2-2.
It felt so significant in the very moment of the stop, especially since it had such echoes of what happened against Villarreal - right down to what eventually happened. But that is why, even allowing for the fact United are now top of the group and surely en route for the last 16, it feels wrong to talk about this as any kind of turning point.
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Man Utd 0 - 0 Atalanta
6 mins: Rashford has made a bright start for the home side. He seems determined to drive his team forward. Harry Maguire heads a clearance strongly up the pitch and the bounce takes the ball behind the Atalantan back line. Rashford sweeps in from the left, takes control of the ball and tries to cut into the box but gets tackled by Marten de Roon.
Man Utd 0 - 0 Atalanta
3 mins: Mason Greenwood passes the ball down the right wing and sends Bruno Fernandes chasing after the ball. He comes up against Jose Luis Palomino who shoulders Fernandes off the ball, takes possession and clears his lines.
Scott McTominay receives the ball after Man Utd bring it back under control. He drives through the midfield and slots Rashford in behind the lines. It’s a great run from Rashford who only has the goalkeeper to beat but he sends his effort wide of the left-hand post. The offside goes up against him anyway so it wouldn’t have counted.
Man Utd 0 - 0 Atalanta
Kick off: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a smile on his face as his team kick off the match. Victor Lindelof sends a diagonal ball over to Marcus Rashford on the left side and United win a throw in.
Here come the teams
Harry Maguire leads Manchester United out onto the Old Trafford pitch. The captain had a poor return from injury against Leicester at the weekend and will be wanting to impress the home crowd this evening.
Solskjaer’s pre-match thoughts
Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke to BT Sport in the build up to kick off and gave his thoughts on why his team have lost four of their last seven games in all competitions saying:
The last few games we’ve looked a little bit open. We’ve been too easy to play through on counter-attacks. Today we’ve picked a team that will give us legs and energy. Our fans will also want to see us on the front foot.
“It’ll be nice for [Marcus Rashford] to play football freely without a niggle on his back or shoulders. The last few months he’s been carrying an injury. You’ll see a smile now, and Marcus enjoying football is a brilliant sight to see.
“The last two or three seasons Atalanta have been scoring close to 100 goals in the Serie A, so we will have to defend really well. Plus we want to to hopefully be on the attack.”
Will Ronaldo score again?
Ronaldo has five goals in seven appearances for United since rejoining the club this summer, including two on his second debut in a 4-1 win at home to Newcastle on 11th September.
They were his first Premier League goals since 10 May 2009; that gap of 12 years 124 days is the second longest in Premier League history, after Matt Jackson (13 years 187 days).
He’s also found the back of the net in each of United’s first two Champions League games this season. Can he continue that run tonight?
With problems in Manchester United dressing room and on the pitch, can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer save his job?
In the dressing room after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Everton, one star player was aimlessly raging about “the same mistakes every single game”. In the other dressing room, Rafa Benitez was actually criticising his team over “two points dropped”.
The two scenes point to significant football issues that are only increasing the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The first is that his own squad know something is wrong with the team. It has sapped confidence. The second is that opposition teams realise that. They know United are easy to get at right now, and it’s not hard to figure out where.
Can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer save his job at Manchester United?
Pressure is mounting on the Old Trafford manager with familiar questions over results and the style of play refusing to go away
Ronaldo to the rescue
This is the first meeting between Manchester United and Atalanta.
In their last Champions League fixture Cristiano Ronaldo sent Old Trafford crazy with a 95th minute winning goal that saw United to a 2-1 victory against Villarreal.
It was revenge for the last season’s Europa League final where Villarreal beat the Red Devils on penalties.
For Atalanta they edged out the Young Boys 1-0 in Bergamo in the second round of matches having drawn their first fixture 2-2 at Villarreal.
Atalanta’s European dream
Having never featured in the Champions League before 2019/20, Atalanta are making their third successive appearance in the group stage.
They reached the quarter-finalists on their debut two seasons ago, and lost to Real Madrid in the last 16 during the 2020/21 campaign.
The Italian club were second behind Liverpool in Group D last season, sealing progress with a 1-0 win at Ajax on Matchday 6. That gave them 11 points, two behind Liverpool who had won 5-0 in Bergamo on Matchday 3 – Atalanta’s heaviest European defeat – before Gian Piero Gasperini’s side turned the tables with a famous 2-0 victory at Anfield.
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