Gary Lineker wasn't exactly left eating his words after his brutal putdown of Manchester United on Tuesday — but Cristiano Ronaldo at least made sure he had something positive to say about the club.
United managed to scrape a draw on Tuesday by the skin of their teeth and they have Ronaldo to thank for once again saving their hides at the death, as he scored in the last five minutes in a Champions League fixture for the third time this season.
Atalanta once again took the game to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and took the lead early on from Josip Ilicic's tame strike, which squirmed past David de Gea.
The Match of the Day host wasn't impressed and tweeted: "United are back... in the mire."
Yet Lineker was left singing Ronaldo's praises at the half-time whistle as the Portuguese finished off a breath-taking move, which included Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes, by sweeping the ball into the top corner.
"Great goal from Man Utd. Beautiful football and comfortably put away by the irrepressible Ronaldo," he then tweeted.
The impressive Duvan Zapata then restored the Italian side's lead as he shrugged off Harry Maguire to calmly stick a long ball into the net, though a bafflingly long VAR review was needed before it was eventually given.
It didn't sit well with the former England striker: "Zapata has a shoe onside and scores. Utterly cr*p, though, that everyone is kept in the dark with VAR. No communication, no replays, no nothing. Hopelessly disrespectful to all."
As United were staring down the barrel of yet another defeat, on the same day that Antonio Conte was hired by Tottenham, Ronaldo pulled them out of the fire once again.
Deep into added time, Greenwood managed to direct the ball to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner who unleashed a spectacular volley into the bottom corner.
"He's unbelievable," Lineker tweeted. "Cristiano has done it again. One of the greatest finishers in the history of football. Extraordinary player."
Lineker later added: "In terms of goal scoring he’s right up there with Pele, Müller, Di Stefano and Messi. Tough one to call with players from different eras, and rule changes and playing conditions massively favour the modern player."
Ronaldo's equaliser was crucial in keeping United's Champions League hopes alive, as it kept them on top of Group F ahead of Atalanta and Villarreal.
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