'Tough to accept!' - Youri Tielemans admits conceding inside first minute was 'hard to take' in Man Utd's Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid

The Belgian midfielder admitted how difficult it was to digest seeing his side breached inside the opening minute of their Champions League trip to Spain. Diogo Dalot's failure to track Alex Baena allowed the playmaker to tee up Pablo Barrios, who beat Senne Lammens with just 47 seconds on the clock. That strike stood as the second-fastest goal in Atletico's history in the competition and immediately tore up the visitors' game plan.

Although head coach Michael Carrick made five changes to his starting line-up, including handing Carlos Baleba a full debut, the Red Devils' frontline squandered promising first-half openings through Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford before the break. Reflecting on the psychological blow of the hosts' rapid opener, Tielemans told UEFA: "It is tough to accept because you try be positive in the game, you try to make a good start and then you concede straight away. It was hard to take."

A spirited response after the restart nearly yielded an equaliser when Tielemans picked out Bruno Fernandes with a lofted pass, before the skipper rattled Jan Oblak's crossbar with a 70th-minute effort. However, that momentum evaporated four minutes later when Leny Yoro was shown a straight red card for hauling down Jonathan David, allowing Ademola Lookman to seal the points five minutes afterward.

Detailing the interval team talk and their inability to convert pressure into goals, Tielemans added: "I think after that we had some chances. We tried to come back into the game, but we couldn't take one of the chances. At half-time we spoke to each other, we had to be more aggressive and try to be more front footed. I think we had a few good moments, but it was not enough."

Becoming the first English club to lose in the Champions League this term also stretched United's winless run to five matches across all competitions. Suffering only a second defeat in their last 12 encounters against Spanish opposition has further intensified the scrutiny on Carrick following last weekend's frustrating draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Red Devils must now regroup quickly ahead of a fierce away derby against Leeds United, carrying the unwanted weight of their lowest points tally after six opening league games since 1986.