South Korea's Man City lost 1-2 to Atletico Madrid in their final friendly match, a week before playing the Community Shield against Arsenal.
Goals: Dias 85' - Depay 66', Carrasco 74'
Heavy rain before kick-off made the pitch slippery, affecting the quality of play even though the match was 40 minutes late. Both teams used strong lineups, but could not score because Atletico often defended in large numbers in their own half. The situation only changed after the 60th minute, when both teams made almost complete substitutions, making the game more open.
Midfielder Phil Foden (left) competes with defender Mario Hermoso at the World Cup stadium in Seoul, South Korea on the evening of July 30, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Atletico continued to play defensive counter-attacking in the last half hour, but substitutes Memphis Depay and Yannick Carrasco took turns shining with their long-range shots. In the 66th minute, Depay played a one-two with striker Angel Correa and then shot hard into the near corner, defeating goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. Coach Diego Simeone jumped up in excitement, while in the stands at Seoul Stadium, many fans wearing Man City shirts also applauded this masterpiece.
Depay continued to contribute to the second goal with a headed pass to Carrasco who broke forward on the left. The Belgian midfielder beat Rico Lewis, cut inside and fired from 20 metres into the near corner, leaving Ortega wide again. If Atletico had capitalised on their chances, they could have scored a few more goals on the counter-attack.
Man City only got one goal back from a corner, when centre-back Ruben Dias joined the fight and headed the ball past goalkeeper Ivo Grbic. The treble-winning team suffered their first defeat since winning the Champions League.
Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne once again did not play a single minute in the friendlies, although Man City will play the Community Shield against Arsenal at Wembley on August 6. Erling Haaland played 51 minutes in the match, but had almost no chance of scoring. Pep Guardiola's team still have a lot of work to do before the new season, when they often start late than in the sprint phase.
Competition list
Man City : Ederson (Ortega Moreno 45), Walker (Cancelo 54), Stones (Akanji 54), Dias, Laporte (Gomez 54), Rodrigo (Phillips 54), Bernardo (Kovacic 54), Foden (Lewis 54), Grealish (McAtee 54), Alvarez, Haaland (Bobb 54)
Atletico : Oblak (Grbic 45), Azpilicueta, Soyuncu, Witsel (Kostis 61), Hermoso (Carrasco 61), De Paul (Barrios 61), Koke (Niguez 61), Lemar (Correa 61), Griezmann (Riquelme 61), Lino (Llorente 61), Morata (Depay 61)
Hoang An
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