Match Report: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United

It was another Champions League assist for Bruno Fernandes, but a first Champions League goal for 19-year-old Anthony Elanga, with Manchester United grabbing a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16 tie.
How did United set up?
The talking point before the game surrounded the selection of Victor Lindelöf, who was deployed in what appeared to be the right-back position. Some were speculating that Ralf Rangnick would opt for a back five, with Lindelöf acting as the third centre-back, but it became apparent early on that the Sweden captain had been selected ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot in their specialist position.
Scott McTominay was absent from the squad entirely due to illness, the manager confirmed pre-match. Rangnick said that “we had a little bit of hope that he might be available”, but he ultimately missed out, which allowed Fred to come back into the team.
As was expected, the players lined up in a 4-3-3.
Here was the starting lineup and substitutes:
Embed from Getty ImagesStarting XI: David De Gea (GK), Victor Lindelöf (RB), Raphaël Varane (CB), Harry Maguire (CB), Luke Shaw (LB), Fred (CDM), Paul Pogba (CM), Bruno Fernandes (CM) Marcus Rashford (RW), Jadon Sancho (LW), Cristiano Ronaldo (ST).
Subs: Dean Henderson, Tom Heaton, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Elanga, Hannibal Mejbri.
How it went down
First half
Perhaps unexpected due to their poor form, the home side came out full of energy, allowing United next to no time on the ball. Diego Simeone’s team racked up a couple of corners in the first five minutes or so, and their intensity was rewarded in the 7th minute when Joao Felix headed Atletico into the lead. The ball came out from a corner and was swung back in as the United defence pushed out, with Felix managing to lose the grasp of Shaw and find space in between the two United centre backs, going on to bullet a header beyond De Gea off the inside of the near post.
Embed from Getty ImagesLos Colchoneros were happy to sit back after taking a deserved lead, allowing United to have a lot of the ball. Despite the possession, the Red Devils were limited in regard to what they could do with the ball, with Atletico marking Pogba and Fernandes out of the game with ease. Sancho and Rashford were happy to swap wings from time to time, but it was a dismal half from the away team’s perspective, with Ronaldo not even having scraps to feed off.
Maguire and Varane looked a shadow of their best selves, with the latter looking unusually off the pace at the Wander Metropolitano Stadium.
A scary moment came in the 45th minute for Reds fans; Renan Lodi delivered an enticing ball from the left flank, which was met at the back post by Marcos Llorente, who saw his header balloon off the face of Lindelöf and onto the cross bar. It was an antagonising end to the half for the home fans.
Second half
Rangnick’s side ended the half with 67% possession and 312 passes, but there was nothing to show for it whatsoever, with Simeone undoubtedly the happier of the managers heading into the interval.
The second half had a similar tone, with the game becoming tense and scrappy as the hour mark went by. Lindelöf and Rashford were booked for petulant challenges, with Atletico’s Reinaldo also getting a yellow card in that period of the match.
A triple change was made on the 66th minute mark, with Wan-Bissaka and Telles on in place of the full-backs, who were both on a booking at this point. Pogba was replaced by Matic, as well, with may fans left baffled as to how Fred remained on the pitch.
Whilst Wan-Bissaka looked full of intent down the right, United weren’t creating much at all, with Elanga coming on in place of Rashford in the 75th minute.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was just five minutes later when Elanga rolled the ball beyond Jan Oblak for what was a dream moment for the youngster. It was the first time a United forward had made a decent run in-behind all night, with Fernandes slotting in the Swede with precision. Questionable goalkeeping, but a vital moment, nonetheless.
Both managers appeared happy to settle for the draw, with their sights set on the second leg in a few weeks’ time.
Antoine Griezmann – brought on in place of Felix- curled an effort onto the woodwork with just minutes remaining, but replays showed that VAR would likely have intervened.
Final score: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Manchester United (Felix 7’) (Elanga 80’)
Man of the match
Embed from Getty ImagesPicking a stand-out performer for this game is by no means easy, and the obvious shout would be Elanga following his crucial goal at a crucial point of the game; however, fellow Swede Lindelöf put in a respectable showing in a tie where it could be argued he was thrown in at the deep end a little bit.
Lindelöf, despite being out of position, looked strong in the tackle and precise in his passing, often keeping the opponent at bay. It was a good call from Rangnick to freshen things up with the triple change, though, when the Ice Man-made way for Wan-Bissaka not long after the hour mark.
He was yellow-carded for a silly challenge, with the frustration of the night getting to him, but he was good overall for what he was being asked to do. His attacking output was limited, but so was the team’s output for that matter.
Many supporters were full of praise for Lindelöf’s weekend performance, so it was perhaps justifiable that he started today.
The bigger picture
Embed from Getty ImagesWith the away goal rule no longer intact in European football, the second leg will essentially be a one-off game. Theoretically, the goals tonight don’t mean an awful lot. The game could have ended a goalless draw tonight and the intentions of both managers would have been the same at Old Trafford.
With that being said, Rangnick’s Reds are set to be roared on by 75,000 fans at the Theatre of Dreams. It has already been shown this season in home games against Atalanta and Villarreal what the Old Trafford faithful can do to spur the players on. The crowd were just as important as Ronaldo himself in getting United over the line in the group stage fixtures.
When analysing tonight’s performance, there were some depressing showings from a United standpoint. Fred looked out of his depth at times, but it would be unfair to pick on the Brazilian, with Fernandes and Pogba absolutely woeful on the ball at the best of times. Fans have almost come to expect games like that from Fred, but to see two of United’s better players play like that on a big stage- it was disappointing.
Embed from Getty ImagesHowever, like Fernandes does, the Portuguese Magnifico come up trumps with a decisive pass for the equaliser. That is now 7 assists for the Champions League campaign for Bruno, and he is now only two away from matching the record for the most in a single campaign.
Rashford looks nothing short of depleted every time the camera pans to him. Elanga, on the other hand, looks like the player Rashford once was with his 3rd goal of the season. What a moment for him- rhythm is a dancer!