Premier League in Europe

Champions League

It was Ronaldo to the rescue again for Manchester United in a 3-2 comeback win for the Red Devils versus Atalanta. Facing a two-goal deficit and having been booed off the field by the Old Trafford faithful at halftime, United responded second half goals by Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire before Ronaldo’s header in the 81st minute. Criticism continues of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as his inconsistent club continues to rely on individual moments of brilliance for results. Liverpool, Manchester United’s opponent in the league this weekend, stayed unbeaten in their Champions League group with a 3-2 win at Atletico Madrid. The Reds benefitted from a 52nd minute red card assessed Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann after the French striker’s had scored a first half brace. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah completed his own brace in the 78th minute by converting a penalty kick for the win. Chelsea and Manchester City, meanwhile, were little troubled in their 4-0 and 5-1 victories over Malmo and Brugge, respectively.

Europa and Conference League

Leicester striker Patson Daka exploded for four goals in a 4-3 Europa League win for the Foxes over Spartak Moscow. Daka has made only two Premier League appearances for Leicester to date but demonstrated the skills on Thursday which led him to score 27 goals for Red Bull Salzburg as the Austrian Bundesliga’s player of the season for 2020/21. West Ham remains undefeated in Europa League group play after their 3-0 defeat of Genk. The victory gives the Hammers a six-point advantage in the group three matches as Manager David Moyes’s London squad has yet to concede a goal in the competition. Tottenham Hotspur Manger Nuno Espirito Santo made eleven changes to the line-up which defeated Newcastle last weekend and Spurs embarrassed themselves in a 1-0 loss to Dutch club Vitesse in Europa League Conference play. A collection of youngsters, including 17-year-old striker Dane Scarlett, and second choice players such as Dele Ali and Harry Winks were overmatched against the currently sixth best team in the Dutch Eredivisie.