Manchester United’s difficult start to the season worsened in Madrid as Atlético won 2-0, extending United’s winless run to five matches and leaving Michael Carrick’s side with three points from two Champions League games.
Atlético took the lead after 47 seconds when Pablo Barrios finished a move created by Álex Baena’s pass into space. United recovered enough to threaten an equaliser, with Bryan Mbeumo going close twice, Carlos Baleba heading at Jan Oblak and Bruno Fernandes later hitting the crossbar. Atlético also struck the frame of the goal through Álex Grimaldo and Julián Álvarez, while Johnny Cardoso had a goal disallowed after a video review found a Marcos Llorente handball in the buildup.
United’s best spell ended when Leny Yoro was sent off in the 74th minute. Jonathan David ran through on goal after a pass from Morten Hjulmand, and Yoro went down with him during the chase. Referee Glenn Nyberg initially allowed play to continue, but after an on-field review he judged the incident to have denied a goalscoring opportunity and showed Yoro a straight red card.
Atlético capitalised three minutes later. David’s shot was saved by Senne Lammens, but Ademola Lookman followed up to score the second goal and settle the match. United had created four major chances without scoring, their highest such total in a Champions League game without finding the net since September 2012.
The defeat also brought public criticism from United defender Lisandro Martínez, who said the squad needed more investment and that responsibility extended beyond the manager and players. Carrick said he had not seen Martínez’s interview and wanted the team to focus on its next match, an away Premier League game against Leeds on Sunday.