Aberdeen’s faint hopes of producing a special display against Atlético Madrid in the Vicente Calderon Stadium in the Spanish capital last night proved unfounded as the home side taught them a lesson in the finer arts of football and left them with nothing to show from this Uefa Cup group B game.

A goal in each half flattened Aberdeen, hit by first-half injuries to Jackie McNamara and Jamie Smith, as the exasperated expression on the face of Jimmy Calderwood, their manager, told the story of a night when there was nothing to praise his side for. In short, they were not in the same class as an Atlético side who cruised to the easiest of victories.

Aberdeen now sit bottom in this group, with only one point from three games, and face a tough assignment at home against FC Copenhagen on December 20 in their final match. However, they will probably already have been eliminated from the competition by then once the other sides in the group play next week.

Less than an hour before kick-off the stadium’s public address system boomed out Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Aberdonian Annie Lennox which, while being lost of many of the Aberdeen fans taking their seats, might have been seen by the man playing the records as an offering of hope to the visitors.

Certainly, the 6,000 Scottish fans who made the trip believed their team could produce something special against a side regarded as one of the favourites to win the trophy or at least to reach the final in the City of Man-chester Stadium next spring.

Reports before the start were that around 1,500 of those supporters did not gain access to the ground and were left to either the mercy of the touts or to the television sets in the bars around the Vicente Calderon Stadium and when the teams ran out there were surprises in both lineups.

Kun Aun Aguero, the brilliant 19-year-old Argentinian, who was expected to be rested by the home side, was in his usual place up front alongside Diego Forlán while, for Aberdeen, there was no place for Barry Nicholson, the victim of a sickness bug after arriving in Spain. He was, however, needed as back-up and took his place on the bench.

Nicholson’s discomfort would not have been helped within the opening few minutes of a game played at a high tempo as Atlético produced three scoring chances as Luis GarcÍa and Kun Aguero came close and Maxi fired a ferocious 30-yard shot off the left-hand post of Jamie Langfield, the Aberdeen goalkeeper. It was clear the five-man Aberdeen defence were in for a busy night.

Aberdeen’s first-half possession may have been at a premium but Scott Severin’s long-range strike in the 28th minute reminded the home side the could not afford to take their opponent’s lightly, Christian Abbiati, their goalkeeper, having to dive to clutch the Aberdeen captain’s effort.

McNamara left the field injured just before Michael Hart’s important tackle in the Aberdeen area prevented Maxi from shooting as Chris Clark, thought not to be fully fit, waited to make his bow for McNamara, with Richard Foster moving to right back.

These were testing times for Aberdeen and when Thiago Motta released Luis GarcÍa in the area, there was a huge collective sigh of relief when his low shot whizzed past the far post. But, with the loss of Smith through injury a minute before the break – Jeffrey de Visscher replaced him – Calderwood’s side were toiling and when Hart brought down Aguero in the area a minute later, he was booked and a penalty awarded to Atlético, which was expertly dispatched past Langfield by Forlán.

There was further concern for Aberdeen three minutes into the second half when Zander Diamond fell awkwardly in heading a clearance and returned to the pitch a few minutes later with his right hand heavily bandaged. Aberdeen’s luck may not have been in but they looked a bedraggled lot as Atlético moved the ball around too swiftly for them and when Langfield was shown a yellow card for dissent over a corner kick decision, it simply highlighted how frustrated he and his side had become.

It was, therefore no great surprise when the Spaniards increased their lead in the 62nd minute following Foster’s clumsy foul on Forlán almost 30 yards from the Aberdeen goal as Simão bulleted in the free kick which hit the post before bouncing off Langfield’s back and going into the net.

Meanwhile, Calderwood shook his head once more on the sidelines and wondered if there was anyone who could lift his weary side.

In short, there was no one and the visitors spent most of the second half chasing shadows and looking bamboozled by the technique of the men from Madrid. Aberdeen won two or three corners but that was as good as it got, despite Clark’s effort from 16 yards which sailed over the crossbar.

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): C Abbiati – A López, F Eller, Pablo, M Pernia – L GarcÍa, Motta, C Santana, Maxi (sub: Maniche, 71min) – D Forlán (sub: M Mista, 71), K Aguero (sub: Simão, 46). Substitutes not used: I Falcon, R GarcÍa, Z Castro, J Reyes.

Aberdeen (5-4-1): J Langfield – J McNamara (sub: C Clark, 35min), M Hart, A Diamond, K Touzani, R Byrne – D Young, S Severin (sub: C Maguire, 76), J Smith (sub: J de Visscher, 44), R Foster – L Miller. Substitutes not used: D Soutar, B Nicholson, A Considine, , S Aluko. Booked: Hart, Langfield.

Referee: I Bebek (Croatia).

Results: Panathinaikos 3 Aberdeen 0; Lokomotiv Moscow 3 Atlético Madrid 3; FC Copenhagen 0 Panathinaikos 1; Aberdeen 1 Lokomotiv Moscow 1; Lokomotiv Moscow 0 FC Copenhagen 1; Atlético Madrid 2 Aberdeen 0.

Dec 5: FC Copenhagen v Atlético Madrid; Panathinaikos v Lokomotiv Moscow Dec 20: Atlético Madrid v Panathinaikos; Aberdeen v FC Copenhagen.