Barrios scored the opener and drove Atlético forward in a clean-sheet win

A first Champions League win and clean sheet of the season

Atlético beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Metropolitano. Barrios put them ahead in the first minute, finishing off Baena's pass across the box, and Lookman bundled in the second on 79. In between, on 74, Leny Yoro was sent off after a VAR check for bringing down David. It was Atlético's first win in this season's Champions League, and their first clean sheet in it too. Plenty of players had a good night, and it was a good game.

Koke lost his mother on the morning of the game and was not in the squad. There was a minute's silence before kick-off, and Barrios, who scored the opener, held up six fingers for Koke's number.

Barrios was the man of the match

If you are picking a man of the match, it is Pablo Barrios. As well as scoring the opener, he kept the ball under control and made it easy for the team to get from their own half into United's. ItC gave him an 8 and FotMob an 8.4, the highest in the team on both.

He also made two chances for Julián. On 42, Julián took Barrios's pass and shot from outside the box over the bar, and on 54 he volleyed a ball Barrios had floated in against the left post. The pass that would have been an assist for Cardoso's disallowed goal and the big chance he set up on 54 were both worth a great deal.

Cardoso controlled the game, and Grimaldo made the second goal

Johnny Cardoso was very good. Right at the end of the first half he scored from the edge of the box, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check found the ball had hit Llorente's hand in the build-up. If that second goal had stood, he would have been the man who won this game. There was one risky pass in stoppage time, but he played the full match in a midfield without Koke and controlled the game, and that deserves a lot of credit too.

Grimaldo, whose direct free-kick on 27 hit the angle of bar and post, was very good as well. For the second goal on 79 he played a decisive pass to Jonathan David in the box. The goalkeeper parried David's shot and Lookman pushed in the rebound. He started at left-back here, but watching him across the season, not just in this game, I feel his place is in the middle rather than out wide, because he is always a threat when he has the ball as he moves into the final third.

David, off the bench, did better than Julián

I wanted this to be the day Julián Álvarez finally scored. His only shots were the two Barrios created, and when he was replaced by Hjulmand on 71 there were even some whistles from the stands.

Jonathan David, who came on during the game, does seem to have done better. A big part of that is that Atlético had an extra man for much of his time on the pitch. David came on on 61, and on 72 he got in behind from Hjulmand's through ball and was brought down by Yoro, which led to the sending-off. For the 71 minutes Julián was on, it was 11 against 11 the whole time.

In the first half both teams were full of energy and the numbers were even, so it is perhaps understandable that the forwards, Julián included, found it hard to shine. The xG was 0.33 to 0.68 in United's favour in the first half, and 1.09 to 0.30 in Atlético's favour in the second. The second-half figure includes the move for the second goal, scored against ten men.

I say every time that I want him to score soon, and I have been waiting to see him get his first goal. Julián has played in six competitive games this season and has still not scored. Even so, the team have gone through ten competitive games with seven wins, one draw and two defeats, and have won five in a row. As things stand Atlético are winning without Julián doing much, so I am starting to feel that maybe we can be patient with him.

I thought Morten Hjulmand showed what he is about, even in a short spell. Winning his duels and playing the ball forward into the front players are his strengths, and it was that kind of pass that sent David through. In the end it also got an opponent sent off.

No penalty given away, but you cannot call the defensive balance good

In the preview I was worried that once ahead, Atlético would bring danger on themselves with careless play. In this game Le Normand did not start, Romero and Hancko paired up at centre-back, and not a single penalty was given away. Even so, you cannot call the defensive balance good. On 70 Bruno Fernandes hit the crossbar, and on 90+3 Oblak had to save from Cunha. Simeone said it as well in his post-match press conference: "We need to improve our defensive balance more."

That makes one win and one defeat from two Champions League games, and 3 points. Nine Matchday 2 games are still to be played on Wednesday, so after Tuesday's games Atlético are provisionally 13th. Next up is Espanyol away in La Liga on Saturday the 17th, then Stuttgart away on Tuesday the 20th in Matchday 3 of the Champions League, kicking off at 21:00 CEST.

Ratings

Starters

Substitutes

ItC ratings via Into the Calderón; FotMob ratings via FotMob.