Key events

65 min: Baena dances and cavorts in the box, and then digs out a vicious shot. Lammens just about holds on to the ball.

64 min: Nice pass from Baleba, and Bruno hits a cross first time, aimed at Mbeumo but Romero cuts it off. Here come the United changes.

63 min: Llorente, such a warrior, steps in stop Tielemans. What changes can Carrick make? Fans of Boro tell us that was often slow to make them there. An extra spark would help though that bench looks short of anything remotely electric.

61 min: Atleti subs: Lee and Barrios off, and on come Jonathan David and Marc Pubill.

60 min: Feels like a game where both teams are waiting for the chance to counter. Though Baena carries a threat even when there’s heavy traffic and fires a shot that will not beat Lammens.

58 min: Ooof. Tielemans, at last, finds space, and his pass is a belter. Bruno waits for the bounce, it’s there to be hit, but it’s stabbed wide. Bruno Fernandes at his best buries thar.

56 min: Chris Greenhough gets in touch: “I don’t know what’s more deflating: United’s sluggish performances so far this year, or the fact that the Wilcoxes, Brailsfords, and Berradas will coast through the whole shambles, unquestioned and untarnished. In any other job, etc. etc...”

So does Tim Stappard: “Of course Carrick will lose his job. They all do. The question is whether Wilcox and Berrada do. He also definitely doesn’t have a clue what his best side and formation is.

55 min: So close for Atleti. Great ball from Barrios, and Alvarez scuffs his volley off the post. United strike it lucky once more. There’s real quality, and they will get punished if they keep switching off.

53 min: Santos is sat deepest of the United midfield, holding while Baleba steps forward. United are back in the groove they all too briefly found in the first half. Llorente eventually robs Tielemans who has struggled for impact in his more advanced position.

52 min: Romero steps out to rob Baleba, and then Simeone wins a foul from a Rashford challenge. The United player gets the first on-field booking of the night.

51 min: Good, hard tackle by Baleba in midfield. Just what United have been missing? It will help if he can keep that up.

49 min: Rashford bobs and weaves but Simeone Jnr steps across to win the free-kick. He’s a chip off the old block, learning all the tricks.

48 min: Alvarez receives a long ball, and Martinez comes across to tackle his international teammate. Bruno then wins a foul. The United fans can be heard, perhaps for the first time tonight.

Back underway in Madrid

46 min: Can United start the second half better than they did the first? They get past 53 seconds and there’s a sliver of a chance when Bruno smashes the ball in, and Atletico clear. A second chance comes soon enough and Oblak is happy to claim; Mbeumo had not read the Bruno pass.

Matthew Lysaght gets in touch: “Surprised that nobody has mentioned Johnny 5 at the back for Atleti. Waiting for him to come alive perhaps? Or to suffer a short circuit in the second half? Also, Ayden Heaven not wearing 17 is a travesty.”

England’s Lionesses are cruising through their World Cup playoff. Ukraine beckon.

Richard Hirst with a first-half hat-trick: “The goal may have been ruled out but Atletico are definitely Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

Kevin “Bloody” Wilson: “It does look to be going the same way it did for Amorim, Solskjaer, Mourinho - it’s not a question of if Carrick will lose his job, it’s when.”

Half-times in the Champions League

• Galatasaray 1-1 Barcelona

• Inter Milan 1-1 Club Brugge

• RB Leipzig 0-0 PSV

• Viking 2-0 Bayern Munich

• Villarreal 2-1 Napoli

• Arsenal 0-0 Lille

Earlier full-times

• Lens 0-2 Sporting

• Sabah 2-0 Slavia Prague

Half-time: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Manchester United

A goal down in 53 seconds, and then came an improvement, chances for Mbeumo and Rashford came and went. Then came gratitude for VAR. Atletico will be disappointed they are not 2-0 up.

45 min: Some relief for United. Heaven was involved in that, Simeone has clearly targeted the weakness down the United defensive flanks. They will be relieved to go in just 1-0 down.

Goal ruled out - still 1-0 to Atletico

44 min: Did the ball hit the hand of Llorente in that buildup? He gained an advantage, and the VAR decision goes against Atletico. United were very lucky. Bruno made himself useful by running to the ref to ask him to look at it.

Referee Glenn Nyberg performs a VAR check on the goal of Atletico Madrid's Johnny Cardoso, disallowing the goal. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

Goal! Atletico Madrid 2-0 Manchester United (Cardoso, 44) - goal ruled out by VAR

Too easy, United back in numbers and still allow Atletico to pass the ball around, and seize on the loose ball, Cardoso rattling in from distance.

Atletico Madrid's Johnny Cardoso thumps a shot goalwards from the edge of the box … Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

And it flies into the Manchester United net. Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

42 min: Baena and Grimaldo are quite the threat down the left, keeping Diogo Dalot busy. Baena almost pulls off a one-two with Alvarez but Dalot reads it and is able to stop that attack. Another will surely follow. And it does, with Alvarez firing over.

40 min: Bruno, at last, gets forward, off the right but is slow to get the ball in. Eventually, the ball goes back to Heaven, who is not the player United want to be attacking in the final third.

38 min: That talk of improvement in United? Well, that’s going flat. Atleti are stepping it up. United have lost their previous capability of holding possession.

37 min: A booking. Not for Andrey Santos for his tackle on Cardoso, but for Diego Simeone for waving a fake yellow. The great man has still got it.

36 min: United back in numbers, and holding their shape. If it wasn’t for that early calamity this might be classed as a mature European performance. But it’s a big if, isn’t it?

34 min: Leighton Taylor is a man and not a boy, presumably: “Has nobody acknowledged the incredible Chesney Hawkesalikery of the goal scorer? It’s amazing he is maintaining that level of volume in his hair so far into the game.”

33 min: Heaven called into action to stop Lee and then Llorente as Atletico try to pile forward in numbers. This time, United hold firm. Better from Heaven. United won’t want too much Heaven in action.

31 min: Richard Hirst has been back on: “Time to switch the spotlight away from the unfortunate Heaven? Given his predilection for kamikaze tackles and general mindlessness I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about a certain former Spurs central defender,: ‘wherefore art thou Rome(r)o?’”

He and Martinez were Argentina’s gruesome twosome at the summer’s World Cup.

30 min: Bruno, for it is he, lofts in a free-kick that does little to trouble Oblak. A waste, in fact. It gives chance for Barrios to go on the burst, and he wins a corner.

29 min: Some frustration for the home team and their fans, with United doing better in midfield. Bruno Fernandes still yet to see much of the ball, mind.

28 min: This has been better from United, they have responded well to going behind. Baleba leaves a reducer on Baena, and that might help them along. Baleba escapes a booking, too.

26 min: Close for Atleti. Martinez, on Barrios, makes one of his injudicious fouls and that sets up a chance for an Atletico free-kick. Grimaldo takes with his left, and swings it off the angle.

25 min: Baleba gets a good chance from the corner but the angle is tight and he cannot beat the goalkeeper.

24 min: Big chance for United. Baleba wins the ball, and then Mbeumo and Tielemans swap passes, the forward shoots, and Oblak has to make the save.

Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo rues his miss. Photograph: Sergio Pérez/EPA

22 min: United continue to have more of the ball. But Atletico’s counters are the danger and Cardozo’s ball over the top is aimed for Alvarez who seems to give up the chase.

20 min: Buddy Holly Eddie Cochran fan Tim Wood gets in touch: “If United’s left back is struggling, the centre backs need to keep close to support him. Ideally ensuring there are never more than Three Steps to Heaven.”

Apologies, got my ill-fated, early rock n’roll heroes mixed up there.

19 min: The home team, with that lead, are playing patiently. And then going vertical, as they say, just when United are sitting back expecting a slow passing move. This is a different Atletico to that we have been used to over the Simeone years, all 15 of them.

17 min: Atletico go long towards Alvarez, and Yoro uses his pace to close down the danger. United’s three attempts against Atleti’s single shot, and yet the score is in the Madrid team’s favour.