United drew 2-2 with Atalanta on Tuesday night and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's players appeared to have turned a corner after beating Tottenham 3-0 at the weekend, but were brought back to reality by the side organised by Gian Piero Gasperini, who fortunately scored a point.
Scott McTominay's earlier shot deflected off the goalpost and United appeared stronger in the opening clash, but Josip Ilic gave Atalanta a lead at the other end 11 minutes later. Duvan Zapata ran into the small penalty area and picked the Slovenian with a slash, his slow shot was somehow too hot, David De Gea could not control it, and the ball slowly landed in the bottom corner.
Zupata had a good chance of doubling Atalanta's lead when United were found in a loose defence at the back and the Colombian was able to shoot a long ball from the top, but he didn't make the ball turn. Atalanta continued to exert pressure to force Paul Pogba to pass the ball out in a dangerous zone, but Eric Pele made a huge challenge during the recovery process, rejecting Zapata's goal.
Rafael Varan was substituted for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's injury, but United found an opportunity to equalise on the edge of halftime, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the ball into the net after a beautiful tie-up with Bruno Fernandez. The two Portuguese stars bonded after halftime, with Ronaldo battling the ball over the high pitch and kicking off Fernandez, but his shot was blocked by Jose Palomino.
Zapata finally sent the ball into the net after another run in the back without being chased, but the offside flag was raised and United's defence looked unaffected, but after a long var check, the unfortunate Harry Maguire proved to be in opposition to the striker and the goal remained valid.
As time passed, the Atlanta's lead was pressed a little deeper, with Mason Greenwood blocking a stinging shot from Aaron Van Bissaka. United used van der Beek and Sancho to try to save a point, and finally Ronaldo equalized in stoppage time, and United finally found a way out. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side led the group by seven points, tied with Villarreal in the next game, while Atalanta trailed them by two points.