Lookman seals Atletico win as 10-man Man United suffer Champions League defeat
Ademola Lookman scored in the 79th minute to seal Atletico Madrid’s win over Manchester United, condemning Michael Carrick’s side to a Champions League defeat after an early defensive error and Leny Yoro’s second-half dismissal.
The Super Eagles forward struck late to end United’s hopes of rescuing a result after Pablo Barrios had given Atletico the lead inside the opening minute.
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The defeat extended United’s winless run to five games, despite an improved performance from Carrick’s side, who made five changes to their starting line-up.
Lookman’s decisive contribution ensured Atletico capitalised on United’s missed chances and numerical disadvantage to secure the victory.
Barrios gives Atletico early advantage
Atletico needed less than a minute to break the deadlock when Alex Baena raced beyond Diogo Dalot to collect a ball over the United defence before squaring for Barrios.
The midfielder’s effort squirmed underneath Ayden Heaven and into the net, leaving United with an immediate uphill task.
United created opportunities to equalise before half-time, but Bryan Mbeumo wasted two promising chances, while Marcus Rashford failed to make contact with a pass from Lisandro Martinez.
After the restart, captain Bruno Fernandes came close to restoring parity when he lifted Youri Tielemans’ pass over goalkeeper Jan Oblak, only for the ball to drop wide.
Atletico also threatened, with Alejandro Grimaldo striking a free-kick against the post before Julian Alvarez failed to convert an opportunity created by Barrios.
Yoro red card opens door for Lookman
United’s hopes of finding an equaliser suffered a major blow when Yoro was sent off for bringing down substitute Jonathan David while the defender was the last man.
The dismissal left Carrick’s side with 10 players for the closing stages, making their task of recovering from the deficit considerably harder.
Atletico took advantage in the 79th minute when Lookman found the net to put the result beyond United’s reach.
The goal capped a difficult evening for the visitors, who had failed to make their opportunities count before Yoro’s dismissal left them further exposed.
Lookman’s strike secured the Spanish side’s victory and made Manchester United the first English team to lose in the Champions League this season.