Manchester United were 1-0 down when Atletico Madrid thought they had doubled their lead in the Champions League this evening
Marcos Llorente
Marcos Llorente handled the ball in the build-up before Atletico thought they had scored their second goal
View 2 Images
Manchester United were handed a lifeline when Atletico Madrid had a second goal through Johnny Cardoso ruled out for handball during their Champions League clash in Madrid. United appeared to be heading 2-0 behind after Pablo Barrios opened the scoring inside the first minute.
However, Marcos Llorente appeared to handle the ball when coming together with United defender Ayden Heaven before firing a pass to his team-mate Cardoso. Referee Glenn Nyberg overturned the goal following an on-field review, ruling that Llorente had handled the ball during the build-up.
Former referee Mark Clattenburg was brought in to explain the decision, telling Amazon Prime: "There's no doubt the ball does touch his hand, the action has to be deliberate because he doesn't score from that action, it's to a teammate.
"It has to be a deliberate handball. If it's an accidental handball, the play continues and the goal should stand. The referee has to decide is it deliberate or not? What the VAR have done and the referee have had a discussion over the summer, does he gain an advantage from it?
"He does because it blocks a pass for the Manchester United defender. The action, he does make a movement of his arm to the ball so I wouldn't be surprised if this is disallowed for handball."
Speaking about the disallowed goal at half-time, former Reds winger Ashley Young said: "That would have been a sucker punch for Manchester United. It could have gone either way, to be honest they get away with one.
FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FB PAGE!Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page
"You go in one-nil down, it's better than going in two-nil down. United were partly lucky here but it's not a goal. You go in at half-time and talk about what you did well in that half and come out in that second half, if you get those chances you need to take them."
Johnny Cardoso
Johnny Cardoso had his goal ruled out against Man United
View 2 Images
United were immediately on the back foot, falling behind inside the opening minute after Alex Baena drove into the penalty area before picking out Barrios at the far post. Heaven attempted to block the effort but was unable to prevent the midfielder from finding the net.
Atletico took just 53 seconds to break the deadlock. Going into the match, United would have been eager to build on their previous result and secure back-to-back wins following a difficult start to their Premier League campaign, having won just once in the league and placing head coach Michael Carrick under pressure.
United opened their European campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory over Sabah at Old Trafford.
They will be on the road again for their third fixture, travelling to face Cesc Fabregas' Como next Wednesday, October 21, with kick-off scheduled for 5.45pm.