Cristiano Ronaldo made his mark again on Tuesday evening at Manchester United. The English seemed to be heading for a draw against Atalanta for a long time, until the Portuguese superstar prevented a defeat in the final phase with his second of the evening: 2-2. It was the striker’s 125th and 126th goals (303 games) for United in all competitions, overtaking manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (126 goals in 366 games). Arnaut Danjuma helped Villarreal with a goal to a victory over Young Boys: 2-0. United and Villarreal lead Group F with seven points, Atalanta follows in third place with five points.
Atalanta v Manchester United 2-2
The game between Atalanta and Manchester United was a feast from the first to the last minute. After the visitors hit the post after five minutes after a cracked shot by Scott McTominay, Josip Ilicic was accurate on behalf of Atalanta after fifteen minutes of play. The attacker was served by Duván Zapata and shot straight through the middle, but took advantage of a huge miss by David de Gea: 1-0. Atalanta had opportunities to further expand the score in the remainder of the first half, but Zapata first fired high and wildly over and then saw a shot for goal blocked by Eric Bertrand Bailly, who threw himself into the path of the shot .
United came alongside on the stroke of half-time. After a nice attack, Bruno Fernandes put the ball with an unparalleled heel for Ronaldo, for whom it was a breeze to finish: 1-1. The game could have gone either way in the second half, with the home team feeling the most fortunate. After Teun Koopmeiners first saw a shot blocked from a distance, Zapata was accurate. The attack leader could only approach De Gea after Harry Maguire missed and found the short corner: 1-1. The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but after the intervention of the VAR, the second lead was a fact. That same Zapata was given the opportunity to close the game in the final phase, but had to watch Ronaldo save a crucial point for United by hitting the ball from about twenty meters.
? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ? He did it in first-half stoppage time and now before the close: United at 2-2 in Bergamo ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #ATAMUN pic.twitter.com/8SkMEp8ZrF
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 2, 2021
Villarreal – Young Boys 2-0
The Champions League meeting with Young Boys could just be the last trick of Unai Emery in the service of the Spanish club. The coach is strongly associated with a move to Newcastle United, where he must succeed Steve Bruce. The success coach started with Arnaut Danjuma in the base and saw how his team struggled in the initial phase. Christian Fassnacht scored the first opportunity of the game after half an hour of play, but the midfielder’s attempt narrowly missed the left post. Alfonso Pedraza was also unhappy in the finish and did not see his effort promoted to goal.
Not much later it was hit for the home team. After an indirect corner, Étienne Capoue was most attentive to a rebound to tap in the 1-0 from close range. The Swiss thought they would come alongside in the second company via Christian Fassnacht, who was also accurate from a rebound. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük, however, put a stop to that and rejected the goal after the intervention of the VAR. The moments of excitement were particularly sparse at the Estadio de la Cerámica, with the best moment being saved for the end. After a good push from Capoue, Danjuma was able to finish in the short corner with the tip of the shoe: 2-0.