Twitter erupts as 10-man Manchester United suffer 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United tasted defeat for the first time under new manager Erik ten Hag after their 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid during their pre-season friendly in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Red Devils were also without influential winger Jadon Sancho, who missed the game after falling sick the previous night. Meanwhile, new signings Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez started on the bench for the Red Devils.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was linked with a transfer to Atletico Madrid this summer, did not travel to Norway for the clash after returning to pre-season late due to family reasons. The Portuguese, however, has claimed he will play against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in United's final pre-season game before Premier League kicks off.

Despite the absence of two key players, Ten Hag's men started positively. Marcus Rashford cut in from the left and forced a good low diving save from Jan Oblak in the early stages of the game.

Anthony Martial has been in stellar form during pre-season and as such, it was a surprise to see him launch his shot over the cross-bar after being one-on-one with Oblak a few minutes later.

Atletico Madrid offered very little going forward for the majority of the first half, with Diego Simeone's men firmly on the back foot. However, the La Liga club turned things around in the second half.

Slowly but steadily, Atletico grew in confidence. Saul Niguez squandered a gilt-edged chance after coming off the bench, but they were soon ahead.

Joao Felix found the back of the net with a neat finish in the 86th minute, crushing Manchester United's hopes of getting something out of the game.

To make matters worse, Red Devils midfielder Fred picked up a second yellow card in stoppage time for his foul on Alvaro Morata. Soon after the sending off, the referee blew the final whistle, much to the disappointment of Manchester United.

Despite it being a pre-season friendly, Ten Hag will be bitterly disappointed with the outcome. The Dutch tactician will rue the missed chances early on, but can still take a few positives from the game.

Eriksen, in particular, proved a treat to watch after coming off the bench for Manchester United, while Tyrell Malacia also produced a commendable effort. On that note, here are some of the best reactions to the game as the Red Devils fell to a defeat in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo:

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