RON OF A KIND
Man Utd verdict: Cristiano Ronaldo ready to show Man City what they missed out on after latest superhero act vs Atalanta
CRISTIANO RONALDO seems to be on a mission to show Saturday’s opponents Manchester City what they missed out on.
Another two goals from the Portuguese veteran earned Manchester United a point they barely deserved in Bergamo.
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And you can be sure the 36-year-old will dust himself down and be ready for the Manchester derby.
The champions were offered the chance to sign the legendary star when their hopes of landing Harry Kane were finally dashed in August.
And if City boss Pep Guardiola had pushed his board to do the deal, he could well have been wearing sky blue at Old Trafford on Saturday rather than red.
As it was the Etihad chief was not convinced the former Real Madrid man was the right fit for him.
Two months on it will be interesting to know if his view has changed.
Where would United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer be without Ronaldo this season?
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Ronaldo’s goals in Bergamo made it nine in 11 appearances since he returned to United.
He has a habit of getting them out of jail – even when they have no right to.
That’s just the kind of thing City have missed when dropping points in recent home matches against Southampton and Crystal Palace.
Ronaldo loves this competition and seems hell bent on leading United into the knock-out rounds – something they failed to do so disappointingly last year.
His late winners against Villarreal and Atalanta at the Theatre of Dreams gave them a decent base to work from ahead of last night.
And here he hauled United back into the game firstly with a superbly worked equaliser after another dismal first half showing.
That meant he has scored in all four matches in the competition this season – including the opening defeat at Young Boys.
Imagine his reaction if his club do fail to make it past the group stage again.
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But he wasn’t finished there – firing in from the edge of the box in stoppage time just when they looked to be heading for a fourth straight away defeat in this competition.
This was the veteran’s first game back in Italy since leaving Juventus in the summer and the home fans booed his every touch early on.
Their ill feeling was obviously not shared by the Atalanta bench though - coach Gian Piero Gasperini came for a chat with him at half-time and the pair ended up embracing.
Duvan Zapata’s goal early in the second half – which was awarded by the VAR – undid all the good work that Ronaldo had done in getting United back in.
And heading into stoppge time, Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure until the chance came for him to save them – yet again.
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On this evidence, Solskjaer’s men are going to need a miracle to get the better of a City team who have turned in some scintillating recent displays.
Ronaldo has produced a few in his long career – you wouldn’t put it past him doing it again.
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