MANCHESTER, Oct 21: Cristiano Ronaldo saved Manchester United again in the Champions League.
The greatest scorer in the competition’s history soared to head in an 81st-minute winner as United erased a two-goal halftime deficit to beat Atalanta 3-2 in a wild match at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Ronaldo’s record-extending 138th goal in the Champions League came three weeks after he scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to snatch a victory over Villarreal in the second round of games.
United did it the hard way again after falling 2-0 behind following goals by Mario Pašalić in the 15th minute and Merih Demiral in the 29th.
However, United showed a different side in the second half, as Marcus Rashford reduced the deficit in the 53rd with a calm finish following a stunning outside-of-the-foot through ball by Bruno Fernandes. Harry Maguire swept in the equalizer in the 75th and Ronaldo got on the end of a cross by Luke Shaw for the winner.
The Portugal striker made a last-ditch clearance in the final seconds and then fell to his knees at the last whistle.
United moved into first place in Group F, two points above Villarreal and Atalanta.
Chelsea vs Malmo
Injuries to strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner marred Chelsea’s impressive 4-0 win over Malmo in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Lukaku sustained a twisted right ankle getting fouled for a penalty that was converted by Jorginho for the second goal in the 21st minute, adding to the opener volleyed in by Andreas Christensen in the ninth minute for his first goal for Chelsea.
Werner, the strike partner of Lukaku, then had to come off with a hamstring injury just before halftime at Stamford Bridge.
Kai Havertz came on as the replacement for Lukaku and lifted a deft finish over the goalkeeper for the third goal in the 48th minute at the end of a breakaway led by fellow substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Jorginho eschewed his trademark penalty routine – the hop, skip and sidefoot shot – for his first-half penalty and he repeated that with another spot kick in the 57th minute to make it 2-0 after a foul on Antonio Rudiger.
The result of the spot kick was the same, with Jorginho curling a shot right down the middle.
Chelsea, the defending champion, is in second place in Group H. Chelsea is three points behind Juventus and three ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg.
Malmo, the Swedish champion, has lost all three of its group games and has yet to score in the league.
Villarreal vs Young Boys
Villarreal ended an 11-game winless streak in the Champions League group stage by beating Young Boys 4-1 on Wednesday.
Headed goals by Yeremi Pino and Gerard Moreno in the first 16 minutes lifted Villarreal to its first win at this stage of the competition since 2008.
Defender Alberto Moreno and Samu Chukwueze sealed the win with late goals after Meschack Elia gave Young Boys some hope with a neat finish in the 77th.
Villarreal and Atalanta have four points. Young Boys dropped to last in the group with three points.
Juventus vs Zenit
Substitute Dejan Kulusevski scored late as Juventus won 1-0 at Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday to preserve its perfect start to the Champions League.
Kulusevski headed in the only goal of the match four minutes from time as Juventus added to its wins against Malmo and Chelsea. (AP)
