Fifty-three seconds.
As a general rule, when you head to one of European football's most intimidating venues with a boisterous crowd baying for blood, you aim to keep it tight for 10-15 minutes. Don't give them any encouragement.
It took 53 seconds for Atletico Madrid to open the scoring against Manchester United at the Metropolitano. And, in something of a theme for opponents of Michael Carrick's side this season, it was far too easy.
Alex Baena sprang onto a raking ball down the left flank as United's injury-hit back four instantly entered scramble mode. Spain playmaker Baena coolly picked out Pablo Barrios, whose shot squirmed over the line after Ayden Heaven's lunging attempt to block. The young defender, starting out of position at left-back, could not take too much of the blame, but it added a little slapstick to the ongoing farce.
ATLETI IN THE FIRST MINUTE VS MAN UNITED ‼️ Pablo Barrios opens the scoring for the home side 😤 Watch #UCL on @paramountplus 📺 https://t.co/4IjvtXJIX9
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 13, 2026For weeks now, people have been asking how United are back here again, so quickly. After the palpable and merited enthusiasm over Carrick's salvage job over the second half of last season – form that returned the 20-time English champions to this Champions League stage – it feels like the familiar autumn death spiral that accounted for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
Amorim's soul-sapping United tenure – something that felt like a footballing equivalent of intensive teeth grinding inside a 3-4-2-1 straightjacket –unwittingly laid the foundations for Carrick to succeed so instantly. The former crowd favourite breathed fresh air into Old Trafford. He and assistant coach Steve Holland were rightly credited for bringing tactical clarity with a lightness of touch.
That's all good and well when the late-season sun is shining. As they flailed during the opening minutes in the Spanish capital, United needed a good, solid shake as opposed to a gentle hand. It wasn't all bad, though. Clearing a lamentably low bar, this was the best Carrick's team have played since the routine 4-0 win over Sabah a month ago.
The Bryan Mbeumo of last season, brimming with confidence, might have scored a goal or two. Bruno Fernandes raged against his latest United crisis — the Portugal star has given the best years of his sublime talents to far too many of them – and nearly conjured a couple of goals after the break. Carlos Baleba, snapping around the midfield on his long-awaited first competitive start for United, was also a positive.
Still, the contrast when Baena got on the ball was stark. A star of Spain's World Cup triumph, he's having the time of his life, effervescent whenever the ball is at his feet. He's a joy to watch. United's creative stars appear utterly joyless, going about games like men who have been challenged to walk through a rainstorm in a heavy sweater with no coat. It all seems tough and unpleasant.
2-0 ATLÉTI ‼️ Ademola Lookman pounces on the rebound against a 10-man Man United side 😤 Watch the #UCL on @ParamountPlus 📺 https://t.co/SpSnQkdRAd
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 13, 2026The prospect of a grandstand finish dissipated when Leny Yoro was sent off for a clumsy, if soft, last-man foul on Jonathan David, before another Atletico substitute, Ademola Lookman, sealed the points. It left United winless in five, with four defeats across all competitions and only two wins, against Ipswich and Sabah, this season..
Lisandro Martinez slams Man United board and Wilcox, questions Carrick
This run of form left Lisandro Martinez refusing to look on the bright side in what felt like a premeditated post-match broadside to Amazon Prime Video.
"Really poor, really poor," United's Argentina defender said when asked about the quality of United's performance. "I have to control myself a lot."
He did nothing of the sort, lambasting United's hierarchy for a lack of investment to furnish Carrick with a Champions League-quality squad and signalling director of football Jason Wilcox out for criticism.
Lisandro Martínez did NOT hold back after United's loss to Atletico 😬👀 https://t.co/OGo25Pzd30
— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) October 13, 2026"Sometimes it's a reflection, a mirror of how our club is at the moment. Last season we did a fantastic season, but we expect more from the top," he said. "We need more players to compete because many, many teams bring many players as well. Atletico, they have an amazing team and they deserved to win today.
Asked whether United had a Champions League squad, having fielded summer signings Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans as a midfield trio on Tuesday, Martinez replied. "I expect more from everyone. I [expected more investment] 100%. I expect more from our technical director [Wilcox] and, I have to be honest: as players, we have to do more.
"But it is important to make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. Last season, we created the base for an amazing team. It's annoying, disappointing, coming here and I'm not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here."
Plenty of United fans unhappy with the respective stewardship of the Glazer family and co-owner Jim Ratcliffe at Old Trafford will concur with Martinez's message. But his own poor form this season meant he was not an ideal messenger, and he overstepped his bounds even further when he seemed to question Carrick's tactical capabilities.
"He does his best. But every season is different," Martinez added. "You can't stay with what you did last season. The teams know how you play; the teams know every detail. And if you don't change, next season it is a big problem.
"Changing, changing, changing manager, but what about other areas? I can't say more. Tonight, it is easy to say the coach, it is easy to say the players. But we also have to see [more from] other areas."
Carrick refused to be drawn on Martinez's outburst, noting that he and all United's players care deeply about their plight. The manager chalked it down to post-match emotion, but there are now conversations to be had behind closed doors before Sunday's visit to face Leeds at Elland Road, another cauldron waiting for United to wilt.
Amorim's final game was a draw at Leeds. However many new details you add — a goal conceded inside a minute before a supposedly world-class defender tells all levels of the club they're not good enough, for example – the story starts to look very familiar.
