Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Atletico Madrid: Wasteful Finishing Undermines Improved Outing

Manchester United are five games without a win in all competitions after suffering a frustrating 2–0 defeat at the hands of Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Red Devils ironically put in a much better performance at the Metropolitano in Spain’s capital than the 1–1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and yet return home to England’s northwest with nothing to show for it.

After the weekend, it was not the start Michael Carrick wanted. World Cup winner Álex Baena raced clear down Atlético’s left flank, the United defense drawn to him, pulling the ball across the box into the path of Pablo Barrios. Ayden Heaven was in the right place to block the shot back across destined for the bottom corner, but the ball still squeezed through.

There was less than one full minute on the clock and Atlético kept looking for similar passes over United’s backline. Still, Bryan Mbeumo went close to an equalizer 12 minutes in, seeing his goal-bound effort deflected wide after a clever nutmeg on Cristian Romero to create the chance. Soon after, Marcus Rashford hoped to do better with an attempted volley.

The visitors had responded positively to falling behind but Jan Oblak was in a good position to deny Mbeumo and then Carlos Baleba’s free header from the resultant corner, midway through the first half. And yet, Atlético nearly went 2–0 ahead as Álex Grimaldo clipped the angle of post and crossbar with a whipped, curling free kick.

Atlético were even closer to pulling further ahead when USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso blasted the ball into the bottom corner, but the goal didn’t survive a VAR review—the ball hit the arm of Marcos Llorente in the immediate build-up.

It was a slower start to the second half until Julián Alvarez struck the post on the volley nine minutes after the restart. Almost straight after, Bruno Fernandes was agonizingly close to converting from Youri Tielemans’s raking pass, guiding the ball just the wrong side of the post.

The captain later struck the bar from distance as the search for an equalizer continued, although substitutions from both managers began to disrupt the flow of the contest.

A VAR review had come to United’s aid in the first half, but Carrick’s team finished the match with 10 players when the referee was advised to take a second look at a battle for the ball between Leny Yoro and Jonathan David. The French defender was harshly penalized for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity when the Canadian tumbled under pressure.

Without Yoro on the field, it took Atlético five more minutes to kill the game off. David was heavily involved, forcing Senne Lammens into a save that offered up a rebound to fellow substitute Ademola Lookman. In the circumstances, there was no way back.

Two Things We Can’t Ignore

Man Utd’s Missed Chances

Bryan Mbeumo missed two good chances to score. | Burak Akbulut/Anadolu/Getty Images

The outcome of the match hinged on chances that were taken and chances that were not.

Lammens wasn’t as busy as Oblak. Atlético’s early opener was not statistically a ‘big chance’ and, with three-quarters of the match played, the leading hosts hadn’t created one. That was in stark contrast to Manchester United, who made four big chance by that stage of the match and missed all of them. Two fell to Mbeumo, one to Rashford and the other to Fernandes. There is a feeling they probably did enough to win.

But whether more ruthless, or just more confident, Atlético did what the Red Devils couldn’t—find the back of the net.

Improvement in Midfield

Andrey Santos made a case for more starts. | Adam Davy/PA Images/Getty Images

An improvement in midfield felt like a significant reason for the better performance.

Without the injured Kobbie Mainoo and Fernandes pushed into a wide position, there was opportunity to advance Youri Tielemans into a No. 10 role and line up with a brand-new central midfield pairing: Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos.

This was a less technically-skilled midfield, but one that crucially offered more mobility and a greater physical presence—something United have lacked. Baleba’s integration had been delayed by a preseason injury, while Santos has been a curious omission more often than not. Both will hope this performance will be reason enough to give them more opportunities.

Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1)

Youri Tielemans was more attacking. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Senne Lammens—7.0: Not a bad performance despite conceding twice.

RB: Diogo Dalot—6.8: Caught cold by Baena’s run that led to the first-minute opener.

CB: Leny Yoro—6.4: Afforded a second consecutive start, this time in his favored position at the expense of Harry Maguire. Had generally enjoyed a good game and the red card felt like excessive punishment for what wasn’t all that clear.

CB: Lisandro Martínez—7.2: The Argentine’s range of passing was on display, including a ‘big chance’ created for Rashford in the first half.

LB: Ayden Heaven—6.4: Not a mistake, but it’s 50/50 on whether he could have done better to stop the Barrios goal from squirming through his body.

CM: Andrey Santos—7.0: Only his third start since arriving in the summer.

CM: Carlos Baleba—6.8: Both his first career Champions League appearance and a full Red Devils debut. Won six out of eight duels.

RM: Bruno Fernandes—7.2: The need for more bodies in the center of the pitch pushed the captain out wide. He’s been playing through an injury, yet still came close to scoring twice.

AM: Youri Tielemans—6.5: Seemed to suit this more advanced role after a lack of physicality has left him exposed when playing deeper. Allowed him more time on the ball and his creativity had a better platform as a result.

LM: Marcus Rashford—6.0: His swing and a miss attempting a volley from a good position in the first half points to a player lacking conviction and confidence. Involved too infrequently.

ST: Bryan Mbeumo—6.6: A couple of good opportunities came and went. Needs to be more clinical.

SUB: Joshua Zirkzee (66’ for Tielemans)—6.1

SUB: Amad Diallo (66’ for Rashford)—6.8

SUB: Mason Mount (67’ for Baleba)—6.9

SUB: Matheus Cunha (80’ for Fernandes)—6.6

SUB: Harry Maguire (80’ for Heaven)—6.0

Subs not used: Dermot Mee (GK), Karl Darlow (GK), Daniel Armer, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Amass, Tyler Fletcher, Shea Lacey.

What the Ratings Tell Us

Jonathan David, Leny Yoro — Leny Yoro did well until his red card. | Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Even a Bruno Fernandes playing short of full match fitness is still a huge asset. He rated as the joint-best Manchester United player on the pitch and wasn’t even in his favored position.
Leny Yoro lost points for the harsh red card, but this had otherwise been a good game for the young Frenchman and offers great hope that he will begin to thrive if given the chance.
Marcus Rashford is struggling to make an impact. Two months into his return to United, he is still waiting for a first goal or assist.

The Numbers That Explain Man Utd’s Frustration in Defeat

The Red Devils created enough chances to win a competitive fixture against Atlético Madrid for the first time ever. By halftime, they had missed three big chances, while Atlético hadn’t created any bit still led the match.
United are well-suited to counter-attacking soccer, ceding more possession to their opponent and surging up-field in transitions.

Statistic	Atlético Madrid	Man Utd
Possession	58%	42%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.42	0.98
Shots	11	9
Shots on Target	5	4
Big Chances	2	4
Pass Accuracy	89%	85%
Fouls Committed	11	13
Corners	2	5

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