Manchester United vs Atalanta at Old Trafford was a game of two halves. The first-half very much belonged to the Italian side who went into the break 2-0 up as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side looked down and out. Things changed completely in the second-half though. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo guided the Red Devils to a huge 3-2 comeback win.
It was a massive result for Manchester United, who badly needed a win after losing four of their last seven games across all competitions.
Like their previous game in the Champions League, against Villarreal, this could have easily gone the other way as well. But some great goalkeeping from David de Gea and some brilliance on the opposite end of the pitch meant that they walked out of Old Trafford with three points this time around as well.
In fact, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini believes that De Gea’s double save in the second-half ended up proving vital. As reported by Football Italia, he told Sky Sport Italia:
"“We had the sensation we were holding out, we went very close to going 3-1 up and their goalkeeper made a wonderful double save, then the 2-2 happened.”"
David de Gea has been brilliant for Manchester United this season
De Gea looks very much back at his best right now. The Spanish goalkeeper went through a couple of disappointing seasons and it had looked like he was on his way out of Manchester United this season.
He stayed on though and is now showing how good he still is. Hopefully, he will carry on performing like this throughout the course of the season.
Coming back to the Champions League, although Manchester United have won back-to-back games, the group is very much still open. The Red Devils are on six points while Atalanta and Villarreal are on four each. Young Boys are on three.
But even more importantly, Manchester United still have to play both Atalanta and Villarreal away.