Manchester United have never beaten Atlético Madrid, and they go to the Metropolitano without a win since September
Atlético have won four straight since losing at Anfield, while Michael Carrick’s United arrive in Madrid for Champions League matchday two with several players out and no win since beating Sabah.
Oct 13, 2026
Manchester United have played Atlético Madrid four times in competitive football and have not won any of them. The fifth meeting is in the Champions League league phase at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Tuesday night, with kick-off at 12:30am IST on Wednesday.
Atlético have won four in a row since losing 2-1 at Liverpool on the opening matchday, beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the derby along the way, and are second in La Liga, five points behind Barcelona. United beat Sabah 4-0 at Old Trafford on 10 September and have not won since. They are 13th in the Premier League with one win from six.
A record that only goes one way
The first two meetings came in the 1991-92 Cup Winners’ Cup, and Atlético went through 4-1 on aggregate. The next two were in the Champions League last 16 in 2022. João Félix scored in a 1-1 draw in Madrid, and Renan Lodi’s header from Antoine Griezmann’s cross won the second leg 1-0 at Old Trafford.
United did beat Atlético 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Stockholm, Bryan Mbeumo scoring twice. Friendlies do not count, and Diego Simeone’s sides are rarely the same team in October that they are in July.
Romero against United again
One name in the Atlético defence will be familiar. Cristian Romero joined from Tottenham in August. In May 2025 he was UEFA’s player of the match when Spurs beat United 1-0 in the Europa League final in Bilbao.
Simeone has no injuries to work around. Michael Carrick has several. Patrick Dorgu, Benjamin Šeško, Manuel Ugarte, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and goalkeeper Tom Heaton are all out, which leaves United short at the back, in midfield and up front.
What United need
The opening win over Sabah has United fourth in the 36-team league table after one game, and Atlético 25th. That will not last. The top eight go straight to the last 16, and a point in Madrid would be a decent return for a side that drew 1-1 at home to ten-man Tottenham at the weekend after Dominic Solanke’s stoppage-time header.
I would expect Atlético to win. They have a full squad and four straight wins, and United are several players down. But United’s attack, with Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha, has enough in it to score at the Metropolitano, and Atlético conceded twice at Anfield last month.