Cristiano Ronaldo headed in an 81st-minute winner as Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Atalanta 3-2 in a pulsating Champions League Group F match at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After a poor performance in the first half, with Atalanta leading 2-0 in at the break, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team turned the game and possibly their season around with a thunderous performance. The pressure was on Solskjaer after Saturday's 4-2 Premier League loss to Leicester Cit and he opted to drop Paul Pogba to the bench but there was little sign of improvement from that switch. Manchester United were disjointed and dispirited in the opening 45 minutes but raised their tempo and the volume from the Stretford End with a relentless push to victory that culminated in the Champions League's record scorer demonstrating his brilliance in front of goal yet again. Mario Pasalic put Atalanta ahead in the 15th minute, turning in Davide Zappacosta's low ball from close range and United, with just one win in their last five games in all competitions, looked drained of belief. It was no great surprise when the Italian team doubled their lead in the 29th minute with Merih Demiral rising at the near post to glance in an angled header from a Teun Koopmeiners corner. Fred and Marcus Rashford missed good chances for United before the break but the home side returned to the game in the 53rd minute. A clever ball from Bruno Fernandes allowed Rashford to cut in from the left and he picked his spot with a shot into the far corner. Scott McTominay struck the post after connecting with Christian Ronaldo cross but although United were pushing for a leveller, the Italians were still a threat and the hosts were thankful to keeper David De Gea for a superb double save to keep out a drive from Duvan Zapata and follow-up from Ruslan Malinovskyi. Cristiano Ronaldo in one word?#UCL pic.twitter.com/APwQcItPuh— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 20, 2021However, the pressure paid off for United when they drew level with Harry Maguire drilling the ball home at the back post after the static Atalanta defence failed to intercept a Fernandes ball across the box. Then came the winner as Luke Shaw whipped in a superb cross from the left and Ronaldo rose superbly, timing his jump and his header perfectly to power the ball past Musso. "I was right behind him. His leap, his timing, it was perfect right in the corner," Maguire said. "We see it day in, day out in training and in the goals he has scored throughout his career. He has come up with a massive goal for us again in the Champions League," he added. "We got the goals we needed and deserved and I think we deserved the win in the end. Yes, we made it difficult but it is a tremendous victory in the end." United leads the group after three games on six points with Atalanta and Villarreal two points behind.Also Read- Australia pacer James Pattinson retires from international cricket
Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed on social media on Thursday that his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez is pregnant with twins. The Manchester United winger took to Instagram to share the sports news for today with his fans and also posted pictures of their twins' ultrasounds. Ronaldo will become a father for the sixth time after the birth of twins. He already shared a three-year-old daughter Alana Martina with Argentine model Rodriguez. 36-year-old Ronaldo's first son, Cristiano Junior, was born in 2010 but the identity of the mother is unknown. A surrogate mother then gave birth to a pair of Ronaldo’s twins, daughter Eva and son Mateo, in 2017. "Delighted to announce we are expecting twins. Our hearts are full of love - we can’t wait to meet you," Ronaldo and Rodriguez wrote in similar posts on their Instagram accounts.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)Notably, Ronaldo's oldest son Cristiano Jr is also aspiring to be a footballer like his superstar father and joined the Manchester United academy alongside Wayne Rooney's son Kai in September this year. Ronaldo had admitted in 2017 that he wanted seven children while Rodriguez last year said: "My desire for motherhood is stronger than anything. I hope to have more children." christian ronaldo and Rodriguez have been dating since 2016 after they met at a Gucci store in Madrid, where she used to work as a shop assistant for £10 an hour. The Portugal captain was playing for Real Madrid at the time.Also Read- Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain among 11 recommended for Khel Ratnas
