Ronaldo scores winner in rousing Manchester United comeback against Atalanta
Red Devils come back from two goals down to win against Atalanta
Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero as he inspired an impressive Manchester United comeback to win 3-2 against Atalanta in their UEFA Champions League Group F encounter.
Manchester United looked down as former Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic opened the scoring for Atalanta after only 15 minutes as he turned home a low cross from Davide Zappacosta after a quickly-taken freekick.
Turkish defender Merih Demiral added a second for Atalanta to put them in cruise control just before the half-hour mark. The defender rose highest to head home a corner kick from Teun Koopmeiners in the 29th minute.
With Manchester United staring another group stage exit in the face, they upped the tempo in the second half and pulled one back in the 53rd minute through Marcus Rashford. The forward latched onto a brilliant pass from Bruno Fernandes before curling an effort past the onrushing Atalanta goalkeeper.
As the home side pressed for an equaliser, Scott McTominay struck the woodwork and Ronaldo saw an effort repelled by a fine Juan Musso save.
The equaliser finally came for Manchester United through captain Harry Maguire, who finished emphatically in the 75th minute after a flick-on by Edinson Cavani in the Atalanta box.
With the clock ticking down, Ronaldo came up with a clutch winner to help the home side complete the unlikeliest of comebacks. The Portuguese forward rose highest to head home a free-kick from Luke Shaw in the 81st minute, sending the Manchester United faithful into raptures.
The Manchester United comeback against Atalanta has seen Ronaldo notch a late winning goal in successive UEFA Champions League games after doing so in their last match against Villarreal.
Ronaldo has now scored in three successive UEFA Champions League matches for Manchester United, incidentally scoring on his 300th appearance for the club. It was also the 38th different opponent the Portuguese scored against in the competition.
Manchester United will face a daunting test against Liverpool in the league on Sunday October 24th, while Atalanta will return to Serie A action against Udinese on the same day.
