3 things learned from Atlético Madrid’s 1-0 friendly win over Manchester United
Having thrashed Primera División RFEF side CD Numancia in midweek, Atlético Madrid had their first real test of pre-season as they faced up to Manchester United in Oslo on Saturday afternoon and emerged victorious. Erik ten Hag fielded a strong line-up for the Red Devils, though Cristiano Ronaldo did not play as he was saved to feature against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. But Atlético were up to the challenge and collected a deserved win at Ullevaal Stadion. Early on, Marcos Llorente went closest with a cross-cum-shot in the first half, while Ángel Correa also powered a volley over the bar, but the best chance of all fell to Saúl Ñíguez as the returning loanee fired over from six yards out. That was until João Félix arrived on the scene in the 86th minute to send a pinpoint effort into the bottom corner, frustrating the Manchester United players to the extent that Fred saw red for a second yellow card moments later. In a game which saw the starters get 60 minutes under their belt before sweeping changes, Diego Simeone will have learned more about his players, and here are three things we took from the game in Norway. Nahuel Molina unleashes Marcos Llorente Playing on his debut only days after completing a summer switch from Udinese, Argentina international Nahuel Molina made a strong start to life with Atlético. Defensively solid, he forced Anthony Martial into more central areas, and he was pivotal to linking up the defence with the midfield and attack. But most importantly of all, he served to take the shackles off of Llorente. Ever since Kieran Trippier left the club in January, Llorente has found himself playing deeper and unable to connect with link-up play that can allow him to break through with pace, with clinical overlapping play. With Molina, there were already signs of that. Atletico Madrid’s Argentinian defender Nahuel Molina (L) and Manchester United’s English striker Marcus Rashford vie for the ball during the football friendly match between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United at the Ullevaal stadium in Olso, Norway, on July 30, 2022. Photo by STIAN LYSBERG SOLUM/NTB/AFP via Getty Images It was a Molina run down the flank and through ball to Llorente that created Atleti’s best chance of the first half, providing the first real sign of the potential that connection has with some impressive early understanding between the two. This combination will certainly be one to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead. Getting the best out of Llorente is an even more-important role for Molina, and one Simeone will undoubtedly prioritise. Having gone from 25 goal involvements in 2020/21 to three in 2021/22, exploiting the Spaniard’s talents, pace and skill would be welcome back in Atleti’s attacking plans. Later on in the encounter, Molina tired and showed signs of an interrupted pre-season. Some sloppiness crept into his passing and distribution, but overall it was a pleasing debut for the new Atlético Madrid signing. A new role for João Félix Making his first appearance of the pre-season campaign after missing eight days of training through injury, we saw João Félix come on as a substitute on the hour mark alongside Álvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann. At first it seemed he would join the Spaniard in a front two, but that wasn’t quite the case. The trio created a wide front three, with João operating on the left in a freer role.
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