Ten men United crash in Madrid
The gloom continues as the reds lost in the Spanish capital tonight. Needing to hold firm early on, they instead conceded within the first minute. They carved out a number of good chances but were unable to take advantage of them. A soft red card for Leny Yoro made the night even worse.
It was a first win for the home side after their opening night loss to Liverpool. Despite seeing less of the ball, they were always a danger on the counter attack. They struck the woodwork twice before sealing the game late on.
Michael Carrick made five changes from the side who drew with Tottenham. Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw were absent due to knocks. Harry Maguire, Matheus Cunha, and Amad Diallo dropped to the bench. In came Carlos Baleba for his first start, Andrey Santos, Marcus Rashford, Ayden Heaven and Diogo Dalot. Matthijs De Ligt was in the squad for the first time this season.
Diego Simeone brought in Julian Alvarez for only the second time this season. Koke was missing due to a family bereavement.
A terrible start
Reds fans had travelled in droves more in hope than expectation. The away side got off to the worse possible start though. A straight forward long ball was inadequately dealt with by Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot. It broke to Alex Baena who squared it to Pablo Barrios. His shot went under the attempted challenge from Ayden Heaven.
They began to ease their way back into the game despite that. Bryan Mbeumo was found just outside the area and side-stepped a defender. His shot went just past the post though. The Cameroon striker then found himself one on one with Jan Oblak. The Slovenian keeper came out to block it.
Atletico were content to hit Utd on the break and Julian Alvarez was proving a constant danger. Leny Yoro stood up well when the Argentinian threatened.
Chances created but not taken
The reds continued to create opportunities and Mbeumo had the best on 27 minutes. The home side gave up the ball 30 yards from goal and Mbeumo played a one two with Youri Tielemans. His effort was well saved by the tall keeper though. Carlos Baleba had another chance from a corner. His header went just over.
The home side almost doubled the lead on the half hour. Alex Grimaldo’s superb free kick went over the wall and appeared to have beaten Senne Lammens. It crashed off the bar though and was cleared away.
It appeared as if they had scored the second just on half-time. Johnny Cardoso struck a sweet effort into the bottom corner. It was ruled out for handball in the buildup on a VAR review.
The game was more in the balance after the break. Again the home side were left curing the woodwork. Alvarez was picked out by an excellent pass by Barrios after the home side won back the ball. The former City striker took a touch before laying off a shot. It came back off the right hand post.
Bruno Fernandes was having a frustrating evening but almost conjured an equaliser. Tielemans found him with a deft pass and the Utd captain lobbed Oblak with the keeper advancing from his goal. It went just wide though.
Carrick elected to make a triple sub on 66 minutes. One of those almost landed a leveller within minutes. Fernandes took a corner short in the direction of Amad Diallo. The winger just back from injury smacked his shot off a post.
Harsh blow for Yoro
The guests were dealt a major blow on 72 minutes though. Yoro and substitute Jonathon David had a coming together in the Utd half. VAR deemed it to be worthy of a red card as he was the last player back. It was extremely soft on viewing back.
That was made worse when the home side doubled the lead. The hosts attacked with pace and David saw his effort pushed away. Fellow sub Ademola Lookman swept home the follow up.
That saw a large amount of the travelling support depart the ground. The ten men tried gamely to get something back in the remaining minutes. Matheus Cunha had a decent effort saved against his former club off the bench. They ran out of time in the end though.
Regardless of a decent performance tonight, the reading is getting stark. It is now six games without a win and players struggling to make a mark. This business does not care for reputation or status at a club. Results are just not coming at the moment. The week ahead is not any easier either. Utd travel to Leeds on Sunday before visiting Como next Wednesday. Atletico face Espanyol on Saturday before taking on Stuttgart in Germany.
Atletico Madrid: Jan Oblak, Marcos Llorente, Cristian Romero, David Hancko, Alex Grimaldo, Johnny Cardoso, Guliano Simeone (Robin Le Normand 88), Pablo Barrios (Marc Pubill 60), Alex Baena (Ademola Lookman 71), Julian Alvarez (Morten Hjulmand 71), Lee Kang-In (Jonathon David 60).
Subs not used: Juan Musso, Rodri Mendoza, Alexander Sorloth, Arnau Ortiz, Litbua, Dani Martinez, Jorge Castillo.
Booked: Robin Le Normand (88)
Sent Off: None
Manchester United: Senne Lammens, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven (Harry Maguire 80), Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot, Carlos Baleba (Mason Mount 66), Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans (Joshua Zirkzee 66), Bruno Fernandes (Matheus Cunha 80), Marcus Rashford (Amad Diallo 66), Bryan Mbeumo
Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Dermot Mee, Mathjis De Ligt, Shea Lacey, Tyler Fletcher, Harry Amass.
Booked: Marcus Rashford (52)
Sent Off: Leny Yoro (72)
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
Attendance: N/A
Simply Red Man of the Match: Ayden Heaven
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