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Manchester United dug deep to beat Atalanta and boost their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday night. It wasn’t the best performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side but, because of Cristiano Ronaldo, they got the job done. And while there were negatives, there were still plenty of positives to take from the match.
Manchester United were poor in the first half against Atalanta.
Mario Palasic put the visitors ahead in the 15th minute, opening the scoring after good work from former Chelsea star Davide Zappacosta.
And Atalanta scored their second before the interval through Merih Demiral, who got the better of Harry Maguire to head home from a corner.
After the break, however, United were a side inspired.
Marcus Rashford and Maguire drew the Red Devils level, bringing Old Trafford to its feet in the process.
And, at the death, Cristiano Ronaldo popped up with the winner.
Express Sport will now take a look at four players who this match could be a catalyst for, especially with Solskjaer’s job now safe for the foreseeable future.
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David De Gea
David De Gea is back to his best for United this season.
But, despite that, the Spain international can get even better. And that’s because of the players in front of him.
United need their centre-backs to step up to prevent the 31-year-old from having to come to their rescue.
He’s kept just one clean sheet all season, in their 1-0 win over Wolves back in August.
And if United can tighten up at the back, De Gea’s statistics – and clean sheet record – will be all the better for it.
Harry Maguire
In the first half, Maguire struggled. Just like the rest of his team-mates, in fairness.
But, in the second, he was every bit the leader as United clinched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Maguire can get better when it comes to scoring goals, with his record poor for somebody so strong in the air.
And he can also improve defensively once Raphael Varane comes back from injury.
Maguire is now nearly two-and-a-half years into his United career but there’s definitely a sense the best is yet to come.
Marcus Rashford
With two goals in two, Marcus Rashford is now fully firing again.
He admitted on Tuesday that his football had suffered over the past two years, with injury impacting him.
But, now, the England international has announced himself to the world again.
Given Rashford’s best two years have been when he’s been crocked, it’s possible he’ll now go on to score even more than ever before.
And, for Solskjaer, his return to full fitness is certainly a substantial boost.
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