Is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer covering up the rift in Manchester United, or is the Red Devils finally out of the woods?

Only time will tell what it means for United to pull back a city 3-2 with a win over Atalanta after falling behind by two goals. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes this will be a turning point rather than a moment for Mourinho against Newcastle.

In October 2019, amid fierce speculation surrounding Mourinho's work, United fought back from a 2-0 trail to win 3-2. Although the Portuguese coach survived, he was fired after 8 weeks.

If nothing else, three goals in the second half of the game against Atalanta at least mean United have some momentum ahead of Liverpool's visit to Old Trafford on Sunday. Maybe they just have to try to overtake Jurgen Klopp's side, because if they can stop Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and others after conceding 6 goals in five days, it will be a small miracle.

After the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer began to fight back, first denying that the players showed support for the coach, and then after criticizing the 36-year-old Ronaldo's work efficiency, he strongly supported Ronaldo.

Solskjaer said angrily: "They think the players are still playing for him." "Don't be disrespectful to the players. They play for Manchester United and they know they are the luckiest people in the world. I told them tonight. They are the luckiest men in the world, the No. 11 players and substitutes are the ones who can play for Manchester United, which is what countless boys and girls want to do.

"If anyone wants to criticize Ronaldo's attitude and work efficiency, just look at today's game. I said make sure we get the next goal and as long as we don't concede a goal, I know we're going to win the game. ”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's intense post-match interviews were more potent than his team's defensive all night. There are many worrying factors in this season's performance, but the most worrying is their incompetence in defense. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer put Paul Pogba on the bench, explaining before kick-off that it was because his team was "out of space", but that didn't seem to have much of an impact.

Atalanta are good at scoring goals – they were last season's Top Scorers in Serie A – but that can also help when opponents also want to lend a hand. They didn't expect much when Illisic hit a promising pass into the right side of the box, but 10 seconds later, the ball went into the net and Mario Passaric preemptively ahead of Scott McTomine to catch David Sapakosta's cross.

United have only conceded a goal in their last 20 games and they have not conceded a goal at Old Trafford since mid-March. The 12 home games were their worst in nearly 60 years. Not only were United unable to defend the kick-off, they also couldn't defend the set-pointer, and just before the end of the first half, Merret De Miral overtook Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire on a jumper to hit a corner kick by Turne Kumenas.

Impressively, United found a way to concede two goals, as bad as the four they conceded against Leicester City on Saturday. De Miral's goal was the fourth time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had conceded a goal on a orienteering ball in the last five games and the first time United had scored at half-time in a two-goal-trail in the Champions League.

Manchester United fans sang "Ole at the helm" at the start of the game and booed when the half-time whistle sounded.

"We conceded two bad balls," Maguire said lightly after the game. "We know it's crucial to score the next goal at half-time. I think in the end our victory was well deserved. Yes, we did it hard, but it was a great victory in the end. We showed great unity in the dressing room at half-time. The fans gave us tremendous energy and we got the results they deserved. ”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added: "They had two chances and scored two goals and we had to stop it all."

Despite United's problems at the back, they still have the best attacking players in the world and in the second half they found Atalanta's defence as bad as theirs.

Marcus Rashford, who started in his first start after undergoing shoulder surgery in the summer, scored his second goal in two games, with McTomine hitting the post and Maguire equalising at the back post. Bruno Fernandez was poor in Leicester but he created both goals and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes this is a signal for the midfielder to get back in form before Sunday.

David De Gea still needs to make the world-class saves he now makes every week to stop Duvin Zapata, but who is left with the ultimate victory but Ronaldo? United no. 7 received Shaw's cross and headed the ball into the net.

The sound almost knocked off the roof of Old Trafford, and just like that, "Ole at the helm" returned. Proponents of the competition still want the Norwegian to perform well.

The chant will be played again on Sunday. But the question is, how long can this last? Paste cracks or corners, only time will tell.