The new signing, who became Ten Hag’s first capture at the beginning of July, showed undeniable coolness against combative opposition at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
Malacia set the tone early with a confident escape from danger in his own box during the opening minutes. Aware of Diego Simeone’s tactics to aggressively press from the front, Malacia freed himself and played an excellent pass to Bruno Fernandes, who set Marcus Rashford away for the first chance of the game.
The rapid transition from back to front caught Atletico napping on multiple occasions in the first half, with Anthony Martial wriggling his way into good shooting positions during a lively start.