Bayern’s skeleton crew sink Atletico

STOPPED THE LOSSES: Manchester United recovered from their worst start to a European home game, while Paris Saint-Germain set a record as they won easily

Bayern Munich on Tuesday overcame a horror list of absences to cruise to a 2-0 win away against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Teenage Germany forward Lennart Karl opened the scoring and Konrad Laimer added another as Bayern triumphed despite a bulging casualty ward.

Jamal Musiala, Luis Diaz, Serge Gnabry and Ismael Saibari were on Bayern’s injury list, but it meant little as freshly minted Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane and Joshua Kimmich marshalled the team to a memorable victory.

Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, right, heads toward goal during their UEFA Champions League match against Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Tuesday.

Photo: AFP

The Bundesliga champions also arrived in Madrid without coach Vincent Kompany, sick with a meningitis-related condition.

“There was a lot of noise around us heading in, but we’re very convinced of the squad we have, of the players we’ve got at our disposal and I think we showed over 90 minutes the type of football we can play,” Laimer, who was named man of the match by UEFA, told Amazon Prime. “We could’ve scored another goal or two. It was a very deserved win against a good team and an important three points.”

Despite laying on an assist for Laimer, Kane failed to score, meaning he missed out on equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for scoring in 11 straight Champions League games.

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, right, and Alexander Sorloth of Atletico Madrid, second right, vie for the ball during their UEFA Champions League match at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Tuesday.

Photo: AFP

“We are standing together despite the difficult times at Bayern in the last weeks and are delighted we could experience this team victory together,” Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said.

“We heard that people were doubting how well we could perform today against a top team, just two points behind Barcelona in La Liga, but to give an answer in the way we did is sensational,” Neuer said.

Atletico’s Marcos Llorente told Movistar+ that the hosts were stunned by Bayern’s opener.

Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring during their UEFA Champions League match against AS Roma at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on Tuesday.

Photo: AFP

“They’re a strong side, but we were holding our own,” Llorente said. “It’s the little details that decide a game, and we weren’t expecting that first goal.”

“We were covering well, so it hit us like a bucket of cold water,” he said.

With two wins and two draws, Bayern climbed to eighth on the table, while Atletico finished Tuesday in 22nd spot on the 36-team table.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves celebrates scoring during their UEFA Champions League match against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal, Spain, on Tuesday.

Photo: AFP

Undermanned Bayern were handed a boost pre-match when Michael Olise was given the all clear to start after being subbed out late with a knee injury against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Olise joined Bayern’s two remaining senior forwards Kane and Karl in the starting line-up, with wingback Alphonso Davies pushed up onto the left wing. Atletico received their own late injury withdrawal when Christian Romero was ruled out on matchday.

Julian Alvarez came close to giving the hosts an early lead, flashing just wide of the post three minutes in.

Kane had his own chance to break the deadlock midway through the opening half, but blasted wide of Jan Oblak’s goal on the turn.

Atletico had repelled the visitors despite ceding possession and field position, but it was a simple mistake from the hosts that allowed Bayern to take the lead.

Robin le Normand took too long on the ball allowing the energetic Karl to pick his pocket and loft a shot over the advancing Oblak.

Chasing the game, Diego Simeone made three changes, but Bayern scored next when Kane drifted a clever pass into Laimer’s path, allowing the Austrian to blast in off the crossbar.

Bayern could have had a third with 10 minutes remaining when Dayot Upamecano outmuscled his marker and headed in, but the big Frenchman was penalized for an offensive foul.

Despite having few remaining bench options, Bayern looked the team most likely to score in the dying moments as they easily kept Atletico at bay in a comfortable victory.

In England, Manchester United staged a stunning comeback to recover from their worst start to a European home game by beating AS Roma 3-2, while Paris Saint-Germain set a record as the quickest team to score four goals in the history of the competition by powering into a 4-0 lead after 17 minutes against Villarreal on their way to a 6-0 win.

United’s troubled season looked set to plunge deeper into crisis at Old Trafford after going 2-0 down after 17 minutes against Roma.

It was the quickest United had conceded twice in any European game at their iconic stadium, but a rousing second-half performance saw Bruno Fernandes convert a retaken penalty and Matheus Cunha score twice before being sent off to seal a much-needed win for under-fire coach Michael Carrick.

“I’m not getting too carried away with things,” Carrick said. “I think it’s an important night. I think it’s important for some of the players to have the feeling that they maybe haven’t had here before.”

PSG look like the team to beat again as they chase down a hat-trick of Champions League titles, which would see Luis Enrique’s team match the feat of Real Madrid from 2016 to 2018.

Even without the injured Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the French giants had too much firepower for Villarreal, with an early goal blitz effectively putting the game to bed long before halftime at El Madrigal.

Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu and Fabian Ruiz scored inside the first 17 minutes. UEFA said it was the fastest any team had netted four goals in a Champions League game.

Ruiz and 17-year-old David Boly, four minutes after coming on as a substitute for his competition debut, added goals in the second half for PSG, who are the only team on 12 points.

Elsewhere, Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0, Sporting beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0, Galatasaray downed VfB Stuttgart 2-0, Inter defeated Feyenoord 3-0, LASK won 4-0 against Slovan Bratislava and Bodo/Glimt drew 0-0 with Lille OSC.