Cristiano Ronaldo's late strike brought United to a 2-2 draw with Atalanta. "It must have been one of the best endings ever," Paul Merson said. "It's another polyphila, it just covers the cracks, but that's the result."
Paul Merson hailed Cristiano Ronaldo's "extraordinary" equaliser against Atalanta as "one of the best goals ever scored", but insisted the 2-2 draw was just to make up for United's hole.
After Duwan Zapata put Atalanta back in front, Ronaldo completed a smooth move for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side with a stunning volley in the second minute of stoppage time to cancel Josip Ilysic's opener.
Ronaldo's most recent heroic deed came two weeks after he scored the winning goal against Atalanta at Old Trafford, and his double kill against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday allowed him to score nine goals in 11 games this season.
His sensational second goal, which crashed from the edge of the Atlanta penalty area, made the 36-year-old the oldest player in United history to score twice in a single European match, and Merson felt he had more to gain.
"It has to be one of the best finishes ever; it's absolutely out of nothing," Merson said of his later level in the football special.
"He didn't touch the ball in the second half. Not because of his fault, he just didn't get the serve. But for him, there was no steal, and he hit the ball perfectly. ”
"It was absolutely extraordinary and his first goal was brilliant.
"I'm one of the biggest critics. I'm not sure if he'll be back. But if you give him a chance, he will score. Thirty-six or forty-six, it makes no difference that he will end.
"If you take his two goals tonight, he's two out of ten. But his two goals were amazing and I was speechless. ”
The draw put United ahead of second-placed Villarreal against Spain later this month, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side again underperformed in the long game.
Saturday's 3-0 win over Tottenham relieved the pressure on the manager's shoulders, but their disjointed performance in Bergamo raised familiar questions about bomb shelter players – although Ronaldo's late goal raised their hopes of reaching the round of 16.
"It's another polyphila, it just covers the cracks, but that's the result," Merson added. "They're tied and they're going to qualify.
"If they lose and are beaten by Villarreal, they have actually withdrawn from the game. Now you would expect them to qualify.
"As long as you have Ronaldo on the pitch, you have a chance. They don't look like they're scoring on a Month's Sunday, and then he's going to do what he's done. ”
Cristiano Ronaldo led United almost single-handedly in the first two group games, scoring late goals against Villarreal and home against Atalanta, where he scored again with goals of 138th and 139th.
The 36-year-old, who only loves the Champions League, looked in a good mood from the start of the game, testing Atalanta's Juan Musso with a long-range shot in the first minute.
Since then, however, he has only appeared sporadically. Ronaldo had 50 touches in 90 minutes, but many of them were in areas where he couldn't hurt Atalanta as United showed a notorious lack of cohesion.
Gary Neville has spoken in recent weeks about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's game in the "moment", which of course happened on Tuesday night.
As they approached the end of halftime, their attack didn't succeed, but suddenly Bruno Fernandez, Mason Greenwood and Ronaldo combined to have a devastating effect, with the latter coming home from about 12 yards away.
Ronaldo used the ball effectively in open matches, finding teammates on 32 of his 36 passes, but as Fernandez was effectively targeted by Martendryun in the second half, his serve quickly dried up and United's struggle on the other end of the defence continued.
Those defensive struggles have put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under scrutiny again before the Manchester derby, but Ronaldo's late equaliser is just the latest reminder that he only needs one chance when it comes to key moments.
Broader questions about the direction of the squad under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to be answered sooner or later, but as long as Ronaldo continues to create such brilliant moments that determine the game, these questions seem secondary.