Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid was a bore fest as the Red Devils provided a glimpse at the potential starting lineup for next week's Premier League opener during a 1-0 friendly loss against Spanish side Atletico Madrid in a match played in Norway.
New manager Erik ten Hag has one final preseason test for his players scheduled for Sunday at Old Trafford before the start of the competitive league schedule against Brighton a week later, also at Old Trafford.
Another Spanish side, Rayo Vallecano, will be the opponent to close out preseason on July 31, and Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to see his first minutes in that match.
Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid was decided by a late goal by Joao Felix decided the contest in Oslo, though it was a harsh result for a positive United side that created a handful of looks. Man United 'keeper David De Gea, who was not troubled for most of the match, couldn't stop the Felix blast, screened by his teammate who was covering on the play.
New United signing Lisandro Martinez did not see any minutes, but Christian Eriksen came off the bench to make his Manchester United debut after playing in a closed-door scrimmage against Wrexham earlier in the week. His quality was immediately evident as he helped create two chances in a matter of minutes after coming on.
Man United applied themselves throughout the match, working hard to win the ball back, and they didn't back down from Atletico Madrid's physical play. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga had attempts on goal, Harry Maguire was dangerous on a couple of corner kicks, and Facundo Pellistri even had a late look at goal that was blocked.
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The one negative for United was the straight red card shown to Fred for a stomp on Alvaro Morata in the final minute and the potential for a suspension against Brighton.
Ten Hag pushed his players for more minutes in this match and he made just four subs, with the first ones only coming on at the 70th minute mark. Atletico introduced 10 fresh players at the 60th-minute mark and that group included the matchwinner, Felix.
"It was a tough game, tough opposition," Anthony Elanga told MUTV after the match. "Unfortunate to lose the game, but I feel like during this preseason we've worked really hard and gotten into the way the manger wants us to play."
This was our match report for the friendly, Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid. For more match reports, follow Sportz Point.
