Man Utd's stance on sacking Solskjaer after Ronaldo comes to rescue

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was saved by a late Cristiano Ronaldo strike as Manchester United salvaged a 2-2 draw at Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

A howler from David de Gea allowed Josip Ilic to break the deadlock early in the first half before Ronaldo drew United level on the stroke of half time.

Duvan Zapata restored Atalanta's lead and looked to have secured three points before Ronaldo struck again right at the death to rescue United once again.

For Solskjaer, Ronaldo's late goal could be worth so much more than the point it earned United on the night.

Following United's humiliating 5-0 defeat to Liverpool a couple of weeks ago, Solskjaer was given three games to save his job.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Has Ole Gunnar Solskjaer done enough to stay as Man Utd manager? Comment below

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still clinging on to his job at Manchester United ( Image:

REUTERS)

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Any repeat of United's horror show against the Reds would prove terminal for Solskjaer - but with just one of those three games remaining, the Norwegian is running out of time to win over the Red Devils' hierarchy.

So far, Solskjaer has achieved an impressive win over Tottenham and a scraped point from Atalanta. With that being the case, it's highly likely that Saturday's derby clash with Manchester City will prove pivotal in deciding his long-term future.

Intriguingly, the 3-0 Spurs win was a result that may have proved beneficial in more ways than one for Solskjaer. Daniel Levy ruthlessly axed Nuno Espirito Santo in the wake of that defeat and moved swiftly to appoint Antonio Conte - who had been earmarked as United's preferred candidate to replace Solskjaer, according to reports.

With United's next move not so clear, Solskjaer might be saved by default.

However, another disappointing display in Europe left United scrambling to rescue a point. Although United were far from impressive, a point away at Atalanta isn't a disaster in the grand scheme of things, with United still joint-top of Group F.

After mixed results, all eyes will be on Saturday's derby with City, which is set to act as the real decider on Solskjaer's future.

If United suffer a repeat of their Liverpool drubbing, it's a safe assumption that the Old Trafford hierarchy wouldn't be able to tolerate a second humiliation at the hands of a rival in the space of just a couple of weeks.

But with Conte now out of the frame, Solskjaer can secure his own future, for now at least, with another positive result against Pep Guardiola's side.

Fortunately for the United boss, despite criticism of how he may stack up to his title rivals tactically, he does have an excellent record when it comes to facing Guardiola.

Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Solskjaer again

Solskjaer has actually beaten Guardiola more times (4) than he's lost (3) to the Spaniard - something that no other manager can lay claim to.

The Norwegian also - bar the Liverpool mauling - has form for pulling out a big result when he needs it most in derby games.

United's shock triumph at City back in March helped Solskjaer's side cement second spot in the league after he outwitted Guardiola.

He'll be hoping that he can continue his fine record against United's noisy neighbours with his job still not entirely secure - even with Conte now off the market.

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