The Theatre of Dreams played host the United's first ever meeting with Atalanta last night, with the Italians venturing to Old Trafford for the first time in their history. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side came into the encounter third in Group F, with Atalanta heading the standings after two matches.
Solskjaer suggested he'd sufficiently rejig his system heading into this match, and in that he recalled Scott McTominay and the returning Fred. The pair operated within the double pivot ahead of an unchanged back line, tasked with offering the stability which often lacked against Leicester. Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford made his first start of the season following the lay-off he had been forced to endure; Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho joined Nemanja Matic in dropping to the bench. The manager detailed his intended approach pre-match as that of a "4-2-4" formation.
From the moment he emerged from the tunnel, there was unwavering support ringing around Old Trafford for Solskjaer. The players were fuelled by that support, too, starting brightly and managing to exploit some of the space left by the Atalanta press. McTominay was the first to really capitalise on such openings, driving from the midfield and unleashing to Rashford; the latter's effort was unfortunately misfired, but he was eventually ruled offside anyway. Returning to the starting side, he looked sharp with numerous darts made in behind within the early exchanges. United were showing good potential.
The raucous atmosphere around Old Trafford was a definitive boost, contributing to the high early work rate produced by those on the pitch - Bruno Fernandes was absolutely everywhere. The overall pace of the game was extremely high, causing both sides to endure phases of attack and defence from the off. United - as is becoming typical - did have the best of the opening passages, though that had to be sustained.
Sustained it wasn't. It took only a quarter of an hour for Atalanta to expose Solskjaer's men, taking the lead through midfielder Mario Pasalic. Victor Lindelof was dragged out of position too easily by Luis Muriel, who found Josip Ilicic under no pressure from the United midfield. The Slovenian then found right wingback Davide Zappacosta who - also free - delivered a troubling low cross. Neither Harry Maguire or Luke Shaw were alert enough to block the ball across, with neither McTominay or Aaron Wan-Bissaka picking up the run of and denying goalscorer Palasic. As was the case against Leicester, United were misconfigured by opposing wingbacks. Would deploying a back five have been more suitable? More questions had to be raised, already.
Trailing last night meant Solskjaer had now been behind in five of his seven managerial Champions League matches at Old Trafford, still limited to only the solitary clean sheet over the course of this season so far.
United responded relatively well, forcing Atalanta's Juan Musso into action on a few occasions. Fred's effort following Cristiano Ronaldo's charge and cross was tipped over by the Argentine, before Ronaldo himself forced the goalkeeper into action. The Atalanta defence - lacking some core members - was placed under pressure by the home side, who were again working the ball well into wide areas. There were substantial amounts of space to operate with, but quality in the crucial moments lacked once more. Especially through key creators such as Fernandes, far too many passes were wayward.
Ultimately, United were made to pay for an absence of capitalisation on their large amount of opportunities. This time, it was a Teun Koopmeiners corner which proved too much for the reds' back line. The Dutchman's delivery was pinpoint, finding Merih Demiral's head to convert past David de Gea. The Turk evaded Shaw's block and was relatively unchallenged by either McTominay or Maguire's presence in the box. Again, insufficient defensive prowess proved costly.
There was very little cohesion within the system again for the hosts, with no real rhythm on display amongst little moments of invention within their overall play. Atalanta were settled enough to cope with any United threat from a defensive standpoint, with the lack of movement and overall support for one another making equating to minimal danger. The strong starts from United are becoming increasingly misleading, with yet another collapse of momentum generally evident last night.
Comebacks have often been hailed a specialty of Solskjaer's side, but there was an air of flatness as the opening period drew to a close. Belief seemed at a minimum and was in deterioration, with the body language of the majority noticeably negative. Often, Atalanta were almost allowed to carry the ball forward whilst United simply sat off and were run ragged.
The midfield still lacked the cutting edge, despite McTominay and Fred being arguably the most stable partnership. They were often bypassed amidst a seeming imbalance within the pivot, though it became noticeable that this was consequent of Solskjaer's 4-2-4 system. The pair had almost no support from elsewhere, therefore became often overrun and were extremely exposed against transitions.
Chances still flowed in phases for United despite the lack of structure within the approach, with Rashford unable to convert one-on-one for the second time as Demiral recovered to spectacularly challenge him; Rashford was ruled offside again, but this time the judgement was seemingly incorrect and any goal would've likely been deemed good. Fred also had another opportunity to grab a rare goal, but his finish was placed wide on his weaker side following some intricate footwork inside the box.
The wasteful nature of the United performance was only accentuated as the half approached a climax. On the stroke of half time, Rashford managed to strike the bar having found himself facing Musso for the third time. As can be said for the team as a whole, he really lacked that clinical nature inside the box. Nonetheless, he was the brightest spark and the only player navigating into these promising areas remotely often.
There was a chorus of boos as the players made their way off the field of play at the break.
No alterations were made by Solskjaer at half time, yet his side were still fast out of the blocks as Shaw provided an immediate surge down his left flank. There may have been a greeting of boos at the end of the opening period, but it was all roars of motivation ringing around Old Trafford as the second half got underway.
Ronaldo had the best early chance of the half denied by Musso having been sent through one-on-one by an incisive Fernandes pass, with Rashford firing the difficult follow up wide of the target. Chances continued to come, but United still couldn't convert. Atalanta, in the meantime, remained well-structured.
Finally, Rashford gave United a lifeline with a composed and clinical slotted finish past Musso - making it two goals in two matches since his return. Fernandes played an exceptional first time pass with the outside of his boot through to Rashford for the assist, capitalising on a loose ball in the final third.
All of a sudden, Atalanta begun to look vulnerable; Ronaldo had to be ploughed down having found a route in-behind, with errors creeping in for the visiting contingent. In fact, the Italian side picked up three yellow cards in as many minutes following Rashford's goal.
The structure from Solskjaer's side was dramatically improved, enabling some far more fluid football. Somewhat unknowingly, McTominay struck the post following a surge from Mason Greenwood down the right hand side. The United momentum was tangible, with the rather secondary and relatively inexperienced Atalanta back three placed very much on the back foot.
Subsequent to his assist, Fernandes really began to grow into proceedings - he set up another good opportunity for Ronaldo, who troubled but was yet again denied by Musso as he set his sights on the Argentine's far corner. United were flying, but Atalanta gradually started to nullify the momentum and regain some sort of foothold. It became somewhat reminiscent of the first half's flow, and United had to prevent that.
Here, Solskjaer opted to make his first changes. McTominay was withdrawn and replaced by Pogba, whilst Edinson Cavani entered in place of goalscorer Rashford.
According to Solskjaer post-match, Rashford picked up a dead leg - which he suggested can “sometimes take longer than you want” to recover from. He said that “he should be ok” for the Liverpool encounter at the weekend if the knock is treated well, but he “doesn’t know” for sure. He was highly unlikely to have played the full 90 minutes last night anyway, but 66 minutes was enough for him to make his mark. He had more shots than any other player over the period he played, managing six. Even though he missed some opportunities, he plugged away and ultimately produced a fantastical finish. He has already managed two goals since his return at the weekend.
After the adjustments, however, it was the visitors who had the best chance. Substitute Duvan Zapata managed to spin Lindelof, with De Gea forced to deny the Colombian with his feet; unsighted, the Spaniard then remarkably denied the follow-up by Ruslan Malinovskyi. Pressure mounted further from Atalanta's resultant corner, but this time Wan-Bissaka was on hand to produce an important block. Would those moments prove significant? We'd have to wait and see...
Just after the 70 minute mark, Sancho was introduced on his favoured right side at Greenwood's expense. Shortly after, Maguire was denied from giving United an equaliser following a corner. Only moments later, though, the captain was able to make amends.
The corner in subsequence was actually quite poor, but Fernandes found himself in a handy crossing position. His ball was bundled through into Maguire's path, helped on by a touch off substitute Cavani. Without hesitation, Maguire hammered low past Musso to level affairs.
Fernandes was once again a vital force, in fact no player in the Champions League has created more chances in a single game this season than he did last night. In continuation, no player for United has created nine chances in the competition since the 2003/04 season. He had some rocky patches in the first half, but kept on pushing and managed to come up with the goods amidst the reds' response.
Now, a winner had to be chased for the second straight match in Europe.
Atalanta remained a threat against the projected momentum, but United grew increasingly overpowering. Musso was very active in the visiting goal, with one particular move - which stemmed from a Pogba drive and surging Shaw pass into Ronaldo - promptly seeing Fernandes troubling the goalkeeper.
It was game on, and frankly all United. The reds were made to pay in the first half, but this time around they were making Atalanta pay. All square with less than 10 minutes to play, step up Mr Champions League. Following another collapsed corner routine, Shaw found himself room to deliver a cross from deep. It was the definition of perfection. The ball impeccably located Ronaldo's head, with the Portuguese heading home his 140th career headed goal in trademark fashion. That man completing yet another comeback to make it three from three in the Champions League on his 300th appearance for United.
A word on Shaw too, who admittedly hasn’t been at his best so far this season - struggling with a few niggles following on from his heavy involvement in the Euros. Last night, he was fantastic. With the stability of McTominay and Fred in the pivot, he was licensed to venture forward much more again. The winner may have come in subsequence to a corner rather than an open play move, but his cross was nonetheless top tier. If he continues to be given the license to push forward this much, then Ronaldo could be getting a lot more of this service - crossing is certainly a perfect way to adapt to his inclusion.
The goal capped off a fantastic response to a woeful first half showing. As has been said on social media, it went from "boos to suis".
From there, the game was seen out expertly. Fred was withdrawn and replaced by Matic as the Brazilian suffered some kind of muscle issue, a shame after an assured showing both defensively and progressively from him in the middle.
United were rock bottom of Group F at halftime, but find themselves heading the standings after 90 minutes. There are still flaws (as shown in the first half), but Solskjaer and his team can certainly produce.
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