Eddie Howe's side concluded a mostly miserable pre-season with defeat on Saturday; two second half goals seeing the Spaniards lift the Sela Cup at a sun-soaked Gallowgate.

Rather than that meaningless trinket however, of greater concern for the Magpies boss was the sight of Anthony Gordon limping off with a possible hamstring problem.

In the continued absence of contract rebel Alexander Isak and with no recruits in sight, Gordon had led the line for much of the afternoon before tangling awkwardly with Nahuel Molina after 81 minutes.

Thankfully the player took to social media to confirm he'd suffered no more than a twisted ankle.

While the hosts were ending of a month-long series of warm-ups, the visitors were rounding off a trio of pre-season games within a week, having belatedly called time on the last season at the FIFA Club Cup in the USA on June 23rd.

Atletico started brighter with two early shots from distance that were off-target; Kieran Trippier making a timely 27th minute clearance to prevent his former side from going ahead before Giuliano Simeone shot across goal when left unattended in the penalty area a moment later.

Trippier then had the chance to score at the other end with a free-kick in the 'D' but his firmly-hit shot was saved low down by Jan Oblak before Joelinton headed wide.

That was the first of a number of headed chances for the Brazilian that should have seen his side go ahead: flicking one effort off the crossbar before sending another one straight at Oblak.

Much of United's attacking in the later part of that first period stemmed from energetic bursts down the right by home debutant Anthony Elanga, who supplied several tempting crosses that sadly nobody could exploit. 

Sven Botman was replaced at half-time by Alex Murphy in a scheduled substitution and five minutes later the Spaniards took the lead after a lightning break that began deep in their own half following a corner for the home side and an incisive forward pass from Thiago Almada.

Julian Alvarez raced over halfway with Sandro Tonali trailing in his wake and the Manchester City old boy headed to the back post to receive a return ball across the six yard box from Alex Baena and convert from close range - a rather less fierce effort than the one that fizzed past Pope from distance at the Etihad Stadium just short of two years previously.

While Howe was obligated to deploy his troops across games on successive days - highlighting a shortfall in certain areas - opposite number Diego Simeone changed his entire team during today's game, swapping all eleven players just after the hour mark.

And within two minutes they had doubled their lead when another swift counter-attack ended with Alexander Sorloth threading a pass across the United area for Antoine Griezmann to beat Nick Pope expertly with the outside of his foot - the 'keeper reacting too slowly as he dived to his right. 

Pope made a noteworthy block from 17 year-old midfielder Taufik Seidu six minutes from time before Gordon pulled up after chasing down the ball towards the centre circle. He limped off after treatment and headed straight down the tunnel to round off a dismal day for a full house at SJP. 

Our own glass half full mentality had returned to such an extent that thoughts of Alan Shearer laid out on the Goodison Park pitch in 1997 had surfaced, at least until Gordon walked off unassisted.

Assuming no hangover from that injury scare, United ended pre-season having added Joe Willock to the injured list, disposed of Martin Dubravka and Sean Longstaff and introduced Anthony Elanga, Aaron Ramsdale and Seung-soo Park to their squad.

In terms of pitch time, both Lewis Hall and Sven Botman were used sparingly while Jamaal Lascelles was given ample opportunity to improve his fitness levels after an extended period out. If nothing else, that gives confidence that the club captain can take a bench place for football reasons in the coming months, rather than on a symbolic, linesman-rousting basis.

The frequency with which Lewis Miley featured also amplified the lack of midfield cover. That's of particular concern, with Matt Targett and Harrison Ashby both shoehorned in this weekend. 

The decision to loan out Joe White and omit Travis Hernes betrays the absence of viable options from the U21s, while we're yet to succumb to the Alfie Harrison hype evident from some observers. Our mindset with both him and Sean Neave remains that the best case scenario is playing regular men's football somewhere rather than merely training with our senior team - as was the case when Elliot Anderson's career took a leap forward thanks to his successful loan spell at Bristol Rovers.

It's impossible not to assess the striking situation in any overview without mentioning the player who never dirtied his boots in pre-season. Quite what fellow Swede Elanga makes of Isak's stance would be interesting to know - resentment at the turn of events or the acceptance that it's "just football." 

If rumours of a post-Carabao Cup Final fallout between Isak and Howe have any substance, then Elanga's decision to become a Magpie was made in the knowledge that his international colleague was already wanting away.

Watching the former Forest man today, the excitement levels among those present appreciably lifted whenever he got the ball to almost Saint-Maximin levels. Watching a Newcastle player striving and managing to reach the byline was also refreshing, after becoming accustoming to wide players cutting infield to favour their better foot.

The squad split required to play two games in 24 hours meant that there was no opportunity to see whether Elanga could release the potential of William Osula - a player showing little in pre-season, but become elevated by circumstance from possible loan candidate to sole striking choice.

Whether the Dane starts against Villa or Gordon keeps his place is one of several decisions that await Howe, along with who lines up between the posts. The pairing of Burn and Schar with Ramsdale on Friday looks significant to us, while Pope did little to enhance his claims today - albeit against a higher level of opponent than Ramsdale had faced.

False dawns have abounded in previous pre-seasons when we looked set to hit the ground running. Despite the hyperbole about multiple failed signing attempts in this window, it still seems slightly improbable that a club with a Champions League place were less attractive to potential new signings than they were when haunted by relegation in early 2022. Quality rather than quantity is the hope.

The early business that Howe had publicly hoped for was only partly achieved in this window, but the predicted arrival of Malick Thiaw does tick another box - that of replacing Lloyd Kelly. There seems absolutely no way back for him, but the worry remains that the Isak saga blights our efforts to bolster a forward line now also lacking Callum Wilson before the end of the month.

Biffa