Michael Carrick had seen it in his players, he said, but no one else can. Not so far this season, where they have suffered their worst start in 40 years, and not here in Madrid where Manchester United’s manager insisted that they would embrace the challenge. The reaction was coming, he said; he was sure of it. Instead, they were a goal down after just 53 seconds and another defeat did. That early opener from Pablo Barrios and a second from Ademola Lookman late on meant a 2-0 defeat.
So much for a reaction, a rebellion: instead, there was a kind of resignation, a sense that this is just their reality: a game that began badly, barely got better, and finished even worse. Even the late red card for Leny Yoro at 1-0 which can be offered up in mitigation may not be really; this isn’t what United are supposed to be.
“Sometimes when it’s not quite going for you, you see who’s really there,” United’s manager had said, a message that perhaps hinted at something deeper, but for the opening goal no one was really there. They weren’t there on the left, where Lee Kang-in’s pass sent Álex Baena into a wide-open space; they weren’t there to close him down as he cut into the area; and they weren’t there on the right either, where Barrios was running through and no one was running back. Baena laid it back across and Barrios shot first time; Ayden Heaven, scrambling, did get there but not decisively and the ball came off him and into the net.
Barrios ran off holding up six fingers, the number of the club captain, Koke, whose mother had passed away in the hours before kick-off. From the bench Koke’s shirt was raised. All around the Metropolitano, supporters roared. Atlético weren’t going to stop either, Baena’s effort soon hitting Lisandro Martínez, although United did find a foothold and may feel that they should have found a way back into this.
Bryan Mbeumo had two clear chances: the first, after lovely footwork on the right, went wide; the second, after a neat exchange with Youri Tielemans after Carlos Baleba had robbed Cristian Romero, was blocked by Jan Oblak by the post on the other side. From the corner, Baleba headed straight at the keeper.
That was short-lived though, Atlético soon reasserting themselves. If they didn’t always find a way through, the final pass often astray, they moved the ball with a pace and conviction United couldn’t match. Barrios and Baena couldn’t be controlled and the spaces that opened were vast. The pressure that United applied tended to arrive late or not at all. On the touchline, too, the contrast was stark. Both managers wore black but while Diego Simeone prowled, Carrick stood motionless in the corner, chin in his hand. Simeone was booked for waving an imaginary card. Maybe United’s manager could try that. Something, anyway.
By half-time, Atlético had enjoyed 66% of possession; they could also have had a bigger lead. Álex Grimaldo rattled a superb free-kick off the bar and just before the break Johnny Cardoso’s sweeping shot flew into the net only for the video assistant referee to reveal a Marcos Llorente handball in the buildup.
A neatly floated ball from Barrios led to a Julián Alvarez volley against the post early in the second half. Again, the space, time and the ease with which the move played out was just too big. At the other end, Bruno Fernandes then had a wonderful opportunity to level it. Tielemans did superbly to find him, the ball sitting up on the edge of the area and Oblak coming some way from his line to meet him – the kind of opportunity, in short, that is supposed to only end one way but that this time ended another. United’s captain lifted it past the keeper and a fraction wide of the post. Soon, Atlético were back again, Baena bending wide.
On 65 minutes, three came and three went, Marcus Rashford, Tielemans and Baleba making way for Mason Mount, Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee. In truth, the change had already begun: nothing radical, but a shift. Atlético appeared to have settled, which perhaps suited United, the threat no longer so present. The ball was moved more swiftly now; it was also theirs for the first time. And the lead was still only one. Fernandes was increasingly involved and, after a short corner, swung a shot against the bar.
Which was when it finally, definitively fell apart. Suddenly, there was Jonathan David running through the middle on to a Morten Hjulmand ball. Yoro went running with him and the pair fell. Although Glenn Nyberg didn’t give a foul upon first view, allowing the move to play out with David scrambling the ball to Ademola Lookman to shoot, he was called to the screen to see the challenge again. When he returned, he had a red in his hand. The decision felt harsh; it was also the end, the same two men finishing this. A minute later, Atlético were running through them again. Grimaldo slotted a pass into David, well inside the area, and although his shot was saved by Senne Lammens there was Lookman to score. Heaven and Bruno were removed; this was done, nothing left to fight for, another night ending in defeat.
