Manchester United lucky to snatch draw against Atletico Madrid after disastrous outing

When you critically examine Manchester United’s results in the last three months, it hasn’t been as bad as some pundits have made it look.

In 16 matches under Ralf Rangnick, the Red Devils have lost just once from open play. However, they have drawn too many games in that period – seven to be precise. The German manager has managed to help the team to turn their defeats into draws. However, turning draws into wins remains a big challenge.

United were always bound to find it tough against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16. But nobody envisaged Diego Simeone’s side completely dominating the game.

The Rojiblancos are not noted for pressing, playing a high line and starting matches on the front foot. However, they did all that on Wednesday as Manchester United couldn’t match their intensity.

Elanga saves the day for Manchester United

Wednesday’s game was easily United’s worst under Rangnick. The Reds couldn’t find their rhythm and were in sixes and sevens in the opening quarter of the hour.

Once Atletico made their dominance count with Joao Felix heading home the opener in the seventh minute, it further threw the Reds into disarray. There were too many poor individual performances and the team had to rely on substitute Anthony Elanga to snatch a draw at the Wanda Metropolitano.

In truth, Rangnick and his side deserved nothing from this game. On another day, they could have been 2-0 or 3-0 down before the half-time break. They ultimately crawled their way back but Manchester United’s performance was disastrous.

Reds lucky to get a draw

Manchester United have been unlucky a couple of times in matches where they created several chances but didn’t win. However, on Wednesday, it was the other way round.

The Red Devils simply did not show up, and until the 70th minute, it was all Atletico. A 1-1 draw was a good result for the English side but it came through fortuitous circumstances rather than earned. Rangnick admitted in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Guardian:

“After seven minutes, we were 1-0 down and the plan was in the dustbin. I knew this was not his [Lindelöf’s] best position, when we had Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the ball and Alex Telles [both substitutes, later] we had more possession and more assistance from the wings."

“What we played in the first half I still cannot believe. We played without conviction, without aggression and that is why we were struggling.”

Manchester United are still favorites to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. However, they are unlikely to get away with it if they repeat such a lifeless performance in the second leg.