Solskjaer claims Man Utd ‘played well’ in first half against Atalanta
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims Man Utd “played well” in the first half of their 3-2 win over Atalanta despite being 2-0 down at the break.
The Old Trafford giants were subject of intense scrutiny in the build-up to Wednesday’s Champions League group game after Leicester all too easily beat them 4-2 on Saturday.
Man Utd were facing a fifth loss in eight matches when Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral capitalised on lax defending to give Atalanta a two-goal lead, leading some fans at Old Trafford to jeer at half-time.
Man Utd lean into chaos to mask Solskjaer blunder
But Solskjaer’s side have shown their ability to fight back time and time again, with Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire scoring before Cristiano Ronaldo headed home to make it 3-2 at the death.
When asked about their first-half display, Solskjaer said: “I thought we played well in the first half but two chances for them, two goals and that has to stop.
“We’ve got a habit of doing this at this club but in the first half I thought we played well – they never stopped believing and kept going.
“We need to defend better – I know that – because we are playing against very good teams in the next few weeks.
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“The crowd here are the best in the world and of course there are times when you think you’re a bit down as a supporter but they keep going.
“At half‑time I said, ‘Make sure we get the next goal, because then we win the game.’ As long as we don’t concede I was pretty sure we would win the game. It was just about taking chances.”
On Ronaldo’s performance, the Man Utd boss added: “I was really, really pleased with how he led the line.
“As a centre forward we asked him to run the channels, drop in, press more because we’re at home, of course. We want to get the crowd behind us.
“Even he was down inside his own six-yard box towards the end defending, you could see him sprinting. He did everything a centre forward should be doing, leading the line and defending. And of course the goal is just what he does better than most.”
