Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid in a pre-season friendly in Stockholm, Sweden later today.
United have already played two matches, the first being a 1-0 defeat to Wrexham in Finland.
The Red Devils played much better in their second game, defeating Rosenborg 5-0 in Norway.
The match against the Spanish giants will certainly prove to be a much bigger test, though.
Poor history vs Atletico
The Red Devils have not had the opportunity to play Atletico Madrid on many occasions.
Nonetheless, when they have, the results have not been great.
Their first encounter with Atletico Madrid was in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991, where they lost 3-0 in Madrid. They then drew the second leg 1-1 at Old Trafford.
The only other competitive fixtures came in the 2022 Champions League, where United secured a 1-1 draw in Spain.
Sadly, the Red Devils were knocked out of the tournament with a 1-0 loss at home.
Games played in Sweden
Probably United’s most famous visit to Stockholm was when Jose Mourinho’s side defeated Ajax 2-0 to win the Europa League final in 2017.
They have also played two competitive games against Swedish sides in the Scandinavian country. First, against Djurgardens IF in 1964, where they secured a 1-1 draw, and then against IFK Goteborg in 1994, losing 3-1.
The Reds also played out a 0-0 draw with Leeds United in their opening pre-season game last year.
Time for JJ Gabriel?
Some United players got 60 minutes in their legs last time out, and one would imagine more players will be playing for longer in this match.
This could result in fewer minutes for younger, academy players.
JJ Gabriel hit the headlines for making the senior squad that travelled to Norway, but Michael Carrick opted against introducing him into the match.
Perhaps the English boss will view this match as the perfect opportunity to throw the 15-year-old into the mix, even if just for a few minutes.
Man United record vs Atletico Madrid
| Games played | Man United wins | Draws | Atletico wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.
