Atlético Madrid beat Manchester United 2-0, then Martínez criticises club's board

Match and goals

Atlético Madrid beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, in the second matchday of the Champions League league phase. The win was Atlético's first in the competition this season and gave them their first three points, which lifted them into the middle of the table. Pablo Barrios put the hosts ahead after 53 seconds, finishing with the inside of his right foot after a pass from Alejandro Baena. Marcos Llorente got a touch on a Bryan Mbeumo shot inside the area that kept United from equalising early on. Simeone was shown a yellow card in the 37th minute, and VAR disallowed a Johnny Cardoso goal in the 44th minute because of a foul in the build-up.

1. Minute 1Pablo Barrios scores for Atlético 53 seconds into the match
2. Minute 37Yellow card shown to Diego Simeone
3. Minute 44Johnny Cardoso goal ruled out by VAR
4. Minute 74Leny Yoro sent off with a straight red card
5. Minute 79Ademola Lookman scores Atlético's second goal

Leny Yoro was shown a straight red card in the 74th minute after a VAR check, which left United with ten men. Ademola Lookman, who had come on for Julián Álvarez, scored the second goal in the 79th minute from a pass by Jonathan David.

Koke's absence and a minute of silence

Captain Koke Resurrección missed the match after his mother died, and El Mundo reports that the squad learned of the death on the Tuesday morning. A minute of silence was held for her before kickoff, and Diego Simeone, who has worked with Koke since he arrived on the bench 15 years ago, was visibly moved during it. Barrios had a captain's shirt ready to dedicate his goal to Koke, but the goal came too quickly for him to coordinate with the bench, so he made the number six with his fingers instead. After the match Simeone spoke about the loss.

It was a difficult moment for everyone. He has a large family around him and we are accompanying him in his grief today.

Simeone, Cerezo and the squad

Simeone said that the crowd's treatment of players depends on what they give on the pitch, and he judged Julián Álvarez to be close to meeting that standard after a good match against Alavés. He said Pablo Barrios' minutes were being managed because the midfielder needs to be looked after across the season. Simeone also praised the entrances of Jonathan David and Morten Hjulmand and said competition for places has always been one of the team's strengths. Club president Enrique Cerezo said that repeatedly talking about winning the Champions League is counterproductive, and that he did not know whether Julián Álvarez had split from his agent. Cerezo added that the club wants Álvarez back at his best, that it is too early to discuss Simeone's renewal, and that the final of this competition will be played on 5 June at the Metropolitano.

Martínez criticises the board

Lisandro Martínez told Amazon Prime that the performance was really poor and that he had to control himself. He said he expected more investment from the club's technical director, Jason Wilcox, and pointed to a summer in which United spent around 140 million pounds ($185m) on Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.

I have to control myself a lot but sometimes is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment.

Martínez argued that the coach should not be changed and that other areas of the club also need to be examined. Michael Carrick said he had not seen the interview and could not yet judge the comments.

I haven't seen the interview. I have half-heard about it.

Wayne Rooney, a former United striker, said Martínez had gone too far and that the criticism should have stayed internal.

Form and next match

United have won twice in all competitions this season and are winless in five games, with their worst start to a league campaign in 40 years. Under Carrick they won 12 of 17 games last season, according to The Guardian. Carrick said he needed to find out more about Martínez's comments before deciding what, if anything, would be done. United's next Premier League fixture is away to Leeds United on Sunday, 18 October.