Behind after 47 seconds, four big chances missed, down to ten at 74 minutes: United's night in Madrid.
The numbers
| Manchester United | Atlético de Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 42% | 58% |
| Shots | 9 | 11 |
| On target | 4 | 5 |
| xG | 0.98 | 1.47 |
| Big chances | 4 | 2 |
| Touches in opp. box | 14 | 17 |
| Corners | 5 | 2 |
| Pass accuracy | 85.5% | 88.6% |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester United 25% / 26% / Atlético de Madrid 48% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens, Dalot, Yoro, Martínez, Heaven, Andrey Santos, Baleba, Fernandes, Tielemans, Rashford, Mbeumo.
Atlético de Madrid (4-4-2): Oblak, Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo, G. Simeone, Barrios, Cardoso, Baena, Lee Kang-in, Álvarez.
Atlético subs: Pubill (60', Barrios), Jonathan David (61', Lee Kang-in), Lookman and Hjulmand (71', Álvarez and Baena), Le Normand (88', G. Simeone). Koke was absent after the death of his mother. Atlético head coach: Diego Simeone (booked at 37' for dissent). Line-ups, shapes and minutes from FotMob; SI puts Mount's arrival at 67'. Cardoso's goal at 44' was ruled out by VAR for a Llorente handball in the build-up.
Key moments, move by move
- Inside the first minute Atlético go straight forward, and Baena is in behind Dalot on the left.
- Baena carries it towards the box and cuts it back across.
- Barrios meets it with a low first-time shot.
- It deflects off Heaven and past Lammens: 1–0 after 47 seconds.
- Five minutes after Yoro's red card, Grimaldo surges forward from left-back.
- He picks out Jonathan David, whose shot is saved by Lammens.
- Lookman, on for eight minutes, reacts first and turns in the rebound.
Atlético went at United's right side, United went in behind
- The plan. Carrick “tried something a little different”: Fernandes started wide on the right, with Tielemans at No 10 and Andrey Santos and Baleba behind them. Atlético lined up 4-4-2 with Baena on the left and Grimaldo behind him (FotMob).
- The weak side. Both Atlético goals started on their left, United's right. Baena got in behind Dalot for the opener after 47 seconds; Grimaldo's surge from left-back made the second. With Fernandes, playing through an injury, higher up the pitch, Dalot could be left two against one.
- United's route. Longer balls in behind: Martínez sent Rashford through over the top, and Mbeumo got past Romero at 13' and 23'. United made four big chances to Atlético's two and scored none (FotMob, via SI), and Fernandes hit the bar.
- The red card. Atlético kept the ball, 58% of it and 651 passes to 463 (Sky Sports stats). Simeone's changes at 61' and 71' brought on Jonathan David and Lookman. Yoro's red card at 74' was for a challenge on David, given after a VAR review, and five minutes later the two substitutes made the second goal.
Tactical scenes
United's best moments came from quick balls behind Atlético's back four rather than from long spells on the ball. Martínez sent Rashford through over the top; Mbeumo nutmegged Romero at 13' and was blocked, then got in behind him after a one-two at 23' and forced Oblak into a save at his near post.
Evidence: United made 0.98 xG from nine shots with 42% of the ball (FotMob) and four big chances to Atlético's two, all missed (FotMob data, via SI; Sky Sports stats). FotMob match page · SI: player ratings and stats (FotMob data) · Sky Sports stats · Live blog (AOL)
Recreate it in FM26
Manchester United · Carrick's 4-2-3-1 with Fernandes wide · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Carrick's 4-2-3-1 with Fernandes wide
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Lammens | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Dalot | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Yoro | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Martínez | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Heaven | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Andrey Santos | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Baleba | Defensive Midfielder | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Fernandes | Wide Playmaker | Wide Outlet Winger |
| AM | Tielemans | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Rashford | Inside Forward | Wide Outlet Winger |
| ST | Mbeumo | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Attacking WidthWider
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- TacklingAggressive
- Defensive TransitionStandard
The idea: Win it in midfield with aggressive tackling, then play early into a Channel Forward running behind the centre-back. You need a centre-back who passes long and a striker who times runs; a playmaker on the wing only works if someone covers the full-back behind him.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce the 47-second opener or the VAR red card, and four missed big chances are finishing, not tactics.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Amad on at 46' not 66' (for Tielemans), Cunha on at 55' not 80' (for Rashford). Put Fernandes back in the middle, a real winger on the right from half-time and Cunha on earlier. It shuts the side Atlético scored from and keeps the runs in behind; it makes the game about even, not a win. It moves Manchester United's win chance from 25% to 37% (xG 0.98–1.47 becomes 1.18–1.12). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester United needed
Amad
Both Atlético goals came down United's right, where Fernandes, a central player playing through an injury, started wide. Amad is a natural right winger who tracks back, so Dalot isn't left alone against Baena and Grimaldo, and Fernandes moves back to No 10, where he made the chances that hit the bar.
Jurriën Timber
Dalot was caught out by Baena's run for the opener and then faced Grimaldo's surge for the second. Timber's game is defending one-against-one on the right and recovering at speed when a runner gets past the winger, which is exactly the gap Atlético picked.
What the analysts said
“We feel the game was there for us, is the biggest thing, so we could and should have got more from it.”Michael Carrick (via Yahoo Sports)
“We tried something a little different. Defensively we probably switched the play too much.”Michael Carrick (via Yahoo Sports)
“Really poor. Really poor. I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror…”Lisandro Martínez (Amazon Prime, via Yahoo Sports)
“Getting the goal so soon helped us to manage the game later, I'm really happy for the win.”Pablo Barrios (theScore)
“I don't see it being a red card, I have to say.”Michael Carrick on Yoro's red card (via The National)
United made the better chances, and still lost on the side they left open.
What's happening. United lost 2–0 in Madrid and are five games without a win. Barrios scored after 47 seconds and Lookman late on, after Yoro's red card. United made four big chances to Atlético's two and missed them all.
How it works. Atlético don't spread their attacks around. They find one weak side and keep going at it. Here that was United's right, where Fernandes started as a wide forward and often stayed high. When a winger doesn't come back, the full-back faces two runners alone, and Baena and Grimaldo made both goals from there. United's own idea worked better than the score: quick balls in behind Romero for Mbeumo and Rashford.
What the shots say. On xG Atlético still made a little more, so the result isn't a robbery. But United's best chances were clearer, and none went in. One reading: finishing is the gap, and it can swing back. The other: United have now conceded first in Madrid and late at home, and a team that keeps falling behind needs its chances to go in.