Atletico Madrid beat Manchester United 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League group phase on Tuesday, adding to the English club’s poor run of form. Michael Carrick made five changes to the side that drew against Tottenham Hotspur, with Ayden Heaven deployed at left-back in place of the injured Luke Shaw as United fielded a makeshift backline.
However, United were punished within a minute of kick-off. Atletico needed just 50 seconds to exploit the visitors’ high defensive line, with Alex Baena breaking down the left before squaring the ball for Pablo Barrios to finish. United threatened through Bryan Mbeumo, who fired narrowly wide before forcing a close-range save from Jan Oblak. Marcus Rashford also squandered an opportunity as the visitors struggled to find an equaliser.
United’s hopes of an equaliser took another hit when Leny Yoro was sent off for fouling substitute Jonathan David, who was through on goal in the 74th minute. Former Everton striker Ademola Lookman then sealed Atletico’s victory in the 79th minute, making Manchester United the first English side to lose in the Champions League this season. Reflecting on the defeat, United manager Carrick admitted that his side’s slow start left them with too much to do but felt they had created enough chances to get back into the contest.
“We had a bad start in the game and gave ourselves a lot to do at a place that you come to in a year anyway. They were semi-finalists last year and pushed it to the late stages, so we knew that. To go a goal down, I thought we responded and grew into the game pretty well,” Carrick said. “We had, you could argue, the best chances. We had four one-v-ones effectively. Two for Bryan (Mbeumo), Marcus (Rashford) had one that didn't connect with a volley. Bruno (Fernandes) had one that lifted over the goalkeeper, and again, it could look different.
“There are things we can certainly do better as the game went on, but I thought the game was right in the balance. I thought we were in it in the second half, but the red card obviously had a major impact on that.”
The defeat adds to the pressure on Carrick, with Manchester United struggling to find consistency. The Red Devils have extended their winless run across all competitions to five consecutive matches and what had looked like a promising return to European football’s top table under their former midfielder has increasingly been overshadowed by questions over his future as head coach.
(Inputs from Reuters, ESPN)
