Johnny Cardoso’s run in the Atletico Madrid starting line-up continued on Tuesday as the American midfielder helped the Spanish club to an important UEFA Champions League win.
Cardoso made his fourth consecutive start as Diego Simeone’s men beat Manchester United 2-0 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. It was also Cardoso’s third consecutive match where he played the full 90 minutes.
Pablo Barrios gave the hosts an early 1-0 lead after scoring in the first minute and throwing Manchester United into disarray early on.
Cardoso looked to have doubled Atletico Madrid’s lead before the break, but his goal was disallowed by VAR for a foul on the play.
Manchester United’s comeback hopes suffered a major blow after defender Leni Yoro was sent off for a straight red card.
Atletico Madrid capitalized on 11 minutes when Ademola Lookman pounced on a rebound in the box to ice a late home win.
Cardoso completed 91% of his passes (59/65), had two fouls, won three duels and had two interceptions. It was his seventh appearance in all competitions of the season.
“He’s in a very good moment,” Simeone told reporters after the match about Cardoso. In the game against Real Sociedad, he appeared and began to play at a high level. We need that player, the player the club is going to sign.”
The result was Atletico’s fifth win in a row and a comeback result in UCL play after losing 2-1 to Liverpool at the start of September.
Atletico Madrid will play their next two games in La Liga on October 17, starting with a trip to Espanyol.