United’s grim start to the campaign grew worse still on Tuesday night as they visited the Spanish capital, coming away with a 2-0 defeat after Leny Yoro was sent off in the second half.
The result brings United - and head coach Michael Carrick - in for yet more scrutiny after their dismal start to the campaign. They sit 13th in the Premier League after six matches and have already been dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Brighton.
The mood in the squad has, of course, been questioned in recent weeks, with captain Bruno Fernandes’ attitude once again under the microscope.
Unrest among the wider United squad appears to be growing, though. There was a clear flashpoint following the Atletico defeat as Lisandro Martinez gave an explosive interview to Amazon Prime, pointing the finger at director of football Jason Wilcox for failing to properly invest in the United squad over the summer and questioning his team-mates’ commitment.
And the diminutive winger Amad, who came off the bench to play 25 minutes at the Metropolitano, has now added fuel to the fire, writing of United’s performance in a post on his official Snapchat story: “F****** disgrace. I have no words.”
Martinez’s comments might make for awkward listening for some of his team-mates, namely the summer signings Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, all of whom started at the Metropolitano.
Tielemans also undertook post-match media and was pressed to respond to the Argentina centre-back’s outburst but declined, saying: “I have no comment on that. I don’t know.”
Santos also spoke post-match, apologising to the travelling fans for United’s underperformance: “I just want to say sorry to everyone that has travelled to Spain. Of course, as I have said before, we want to win every single game. Now is time to work hard and come back with victories.”
Asked whether he still has faith in Carrick as a manager, he added: “Of course, we believe in the manager, we believe in our staff, we believe in our players. Like I said before, we are in a bad moment, but we have to work to change this.”
United return to action this weekend, visiting Leeds in what will prove to be a must-win fixture.