Spanish opposition continues to prove very difficult for Manchester United after another defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Joao Felix came off the bench to score the decisive goal late in the game in a brutal encounter between the two teams.
New signing Christian Eriksen made his debut for the Red Devils and showed flashes of his quality but couldn’t save his team from defeat.
There were a total of eight (8) yellow cards and one red as Ten Hag’s United ended their penultimate pre-season match in defeat.
The Match in brief
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid started on a very shaky note as United struggled to find a way past Atletico’s press.
However, the English side quickly settled into the game and nearly broke the deadlock twice inside the opening five minutes.
Tyrell Malacia and Bruno Fernandes combined beautifully to set up Marcus Rashford, who beats his marker before letting out a low shot that Oblak easily saved.
Anthony Martial came close again for United after a defensive mix-up from Atletico but fired his effort over the post from inside the box.
The game soon turned into a fierce battle as both teams began to tackle each with the referee dishing out yellow cards.
The first half ended with three yellow cards for Atletico Madrid and two for United with nothing to separate them at the break.
In the second half, Atletico Madrid made a raft of changes but it didn’t affect the game immediately as United dominated proceedings.
Against the run of play, it was Atletico who had the best chance of the half as Felix set up Saul who skied his shot well off the mark.
It was more difficult for the former Chelsea man to miss than score and he went for the former.
Harry Maguire had United’s best chance of the game following a corner from substitute Eriksen but the skipper’s header went agonisingly wide.
Not long after, substitute, Fecund Pellistri combined well with Rashford and nearly won it for United with seven minutes to play. But Atletico defenders were alert to deny Rashford before Pellistri miscued the rebound.
Just when United thought they had done enough to take a share of the spoils, a mistake at the back allows Felix beat Diogo Dalot before firing past David De Gea to seal the win for Atletico.
United lose to Atletico once again by 1-0 after doing so under Ralf Rangnick in the Champions League last season.
For ten Hag and his Devils, they will return to Old Trafford to take on another Spanish side, this time, Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
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