Atlético de Madrid scored inside the opening minute against a wobbly Manchester United and held off the Red Devils’ labored bid to equalize by nabbing a late goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 win in the UEFA Champions League.
Pablo Barrios’ goal after 50 seconds and Ademola Lookman’s tap-in 77 minutes later — after Man United center-back Leny Yoro had been sent off — earned Atlético an important first victory of this year’s Champions League campaign. It was a good-not-great performance inside a bouncing Metropolitano,
the night undoubtedly tinged by the news that Ana Merodio Borja — the mother of club captain Koke — had died earlier Tuesday.
Let’s get into some takeaways from Atleti’s fifth win on the spin.
This Atleti team has top-class pillars
Diego Simeone needed an improved defense. He’s got it. Cristian Romero has transformed the Atleti back line with decisive defending from the front — though Man United did use his aggressiveness against him to fashion chances for Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes either side of halftime. Still, Romero’s progressive pass to Lee Kang-in’s feet keyed the move that ended in Barrios’ opener inside of a minute.
And speaking of Barrios, who scored his second Champions League goal on Tuesday…
“On a very sad day for him and his family, Pablo Barrios paid Koke the best possible tribute,” Miguel Quintana said Wednesday in his editorial. “The ‘8’ showed his beloved number 6 once again that when he decides to leave, he can rest easy because Atleti’s midfield will be in good hands.”
Though muscular injuries have plagued him throughout 2026 and have compelled Simeone to manage his minutes, Barrios has grown into a world-class midfielder, a player who “always provides the perfect touch” for which Atlético are asking. In one hour against Man United, he showed again that his reading of the game is exceptional; he’s a footballer of power and finesse, with the body control to wriggle free of his marker and the stride to carry the ball into the final third, plus a passing range to break lines.
Álex Baena, UEFA’s Man of the Match, has emerged as another pillar after he suffered through a poor debut season at the club. A master of speeding up a low-tempo game state at Villarreal, Baena is learning to thrive within the system of quick automatisms and synergy that Simeone demands. No longer roaming and going it alone as he did last season, Baena now is up to seven goal contributions (4 scored/3 assisted) in 10 games after his first-minute assist for Barrios. In a more-balanced team, he is enjoying his football again and he is more decisive in the final yards.
It may only be mid-October, but 10 games into 2026/27, we are seeing the fruits of Mateu Alemany’s labor this summer as he reshaped Atlético’s squad to suit Cholo Simeone’s needs. Gone are low-ceiling squad members, and in came players who either raised the level directly or accentuated the qualities of those who weren’t able to do so last year. That’s how you build a strong squad and a competitive team.
Oblak is at his best level in years
Jan Oblak faced serious questions about his Atlético future six months ago, when backup Juan Musso helped Atleti past FC Barcelona in both the Copa del Rey semifinals and in the quarterfinals of this competition.
Musso himself provided some of the answers to those questions after a disastrous performance in the Copa del Rey final. Oblak has since answered the rest with his most consistent run of form in at least two seasons — and probably longer.
The strength of the defense in front of him is a factor in Oblak’s good form, though he’s helped himself too with sharp saves — especially in Mendizorrotza on Saturday. The stats say Oblak has shipped 0.81 goals more than expected in LaLiga, but his 0.89 xGOT conceded per 90 mark is the second-best mark in the league. Against Man United, he prevented 0.77 goals.
Oblak on Tuesday kept his fifth clean sheet in 10 appearances; last season, he didn’t reach five clean sheets for the season until Nov. 29. Oblak preserved this one with two strong saves on Mbeumo and former teammate Matheus Cunha, and he was relieved that Mbeumo missed an earlier 1v1 — not to mention Bruno’s second-half lob that went wide with the 33-year-old caught in no mans’ land amid a defensive mixup.
He guessed wrong on Lucas Boyé’s penalty at Alavés over the weekend, and Antonio Rüdiger beat him with a header in the final minutes of the derby last month. But Oblak’s net has not been breached otherwise over this five-game winning streak, and he has not shipped a goal from open play at all since Alexis Mac Allister’s howitzer at Anfield more than a month ago. He looks confident and commanding again — and for Atlético to compete for titles this season, that is an absolute must.
Alvarez and David together is the only way this works
Cholo Simeone has a vested interest in “recovering” Julián Alvarez — if only for the simple reason that it will foster stronger internal competition for Jonathan David and Alexander Sørloth. Alvarez has started both Champions League games thus far, and for the first time in his European career, he has gone more than two games in succession without finding the net.
The Alvarez we watched in 2024/25 and for a chunk of 2025/26 would fit this team like a glove. And it’s true that he was unlucky against Manchester United and against Alavés three days earlier, as he struck the post in both games. But this version of Alvarez, whose penalty-area instinct seems to have left him completely, doesn’t serve Simeone at all. Do I need to remind you that he hasn’t scored a league goal since February?
For 10 minutes on Tuesday night though, Simeone played Alvarez and Jonathan David in attack, as he did in last month’s loss to Liverpool. I suspect this is the only viable pathway for Alvarez to rediscover form before he becomes an irrelevant player: if he’s going to take up an attacking midfield position anyway, then David has to be the box presence leading the line. David is doing a far better job of that than Alvarez; within 20 minutes on Tuesday, he had gotten Yoro sent off for a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, and Lookman had tapped in past Senne Lammens from JD’s initial shot, a stinging left-footed effort.
The problem with that partnership is, in this Atlético, Giuliano Simeone is an undisputed starter for his athleticism, versatility and work rate. Atleti probably aren’t going to play without a natural winger, and neither Baena nor Lee Kang-in should be dropped from the lineup. These are good problems to have if everyone is performing well, but Alvarez is not.
“HAHAHA SHOULD HAVE SOLD HIM TO BARÇA,” you might say. “SMALL CLUB LOSER CLUB LMAOOOOO.”
I really couldn’t care less. Like Simeone, I’m interested in Alvarez creating and scoring goals because that is in the best interests of Atlético de Madrid. Beyond some well-intentioned pressing sequences, Alvarez isn’t offering much else of value. David meanwhile is undeniable, insatiable in hunting for spaces in the penalty area. And the fans don’t whistle at him when he enters or exits the pitch.
Recovering Alvarez is important, I get it. But there comes a point where the reality simply can’t be ignored any longer.
