Manchester City suffered a shocking defeat to Atletico Madrid in front of Korean fans.
Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, lost 1-2 in the second leg of the Coupang Play series against Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 30th.
Manchester City is Yokohama F on this Asian tour.They both won against Marinos and Bayern Munich, but were caught by Atletico and failed to finish the pre-season game with all wins.
On the other hand, Atletico ended its visit to Korea by avenging Manchester City's 2-3 come-from-behind defeat to the Team K League on the 27th.
Manchester City's goalkeeper, Kyle Walker, Hoobeng Dias, John Stones, and Imerick Laporte formed the defense. Rodri, Bernardu Silva and Phil Foden formed the midfield, while Jack Grealish, Elling Holan and Julien Alvarez launched an attack.
Manchester City played as the best resource except for Kevin De Bruyne on the bench. He was on the bench, as well as Calvin Phillips, Nathan Ake, João Cancelo, Matteo Kovacic, Stefan Ortega (GK), Sergio Gomes, Manuel Akanji, Maximo Perone, Scott Carson, Oscar Bob, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and James McAtey.
Atletico's goalkeeper Jan Oblak, Axel Witzel, Chalar Soe Yoon-joo, and Mario Hermoso built the defense. Coquet, Rodrigo DePaul played midfield, Cesar Azpilicueta and Samuel Reno played wingbacks. Antoine Griezmann and Tomarma were on the attack, and Alvaro Morata was on the front line.
The game was originally scheduled to be kicked off at 8 o'clock, but the kickoff was postponed to 8:40. The cause is none other than the heavy rain. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security issued a heavy rain warning to the Seoul area at around 6:50 p.m., and the unexpected local heavy rain also affected the economy.
Judging that it was difficult to proceed with the game due to the heavy rain on the grass of the stadium, game officials decided to postpone the game time by 40 minutes. 토토사이트 추천
The official account of the Atletico club expressed surprise at the sudden heavy rain, saying, "A huge stream of water is pouring into the stadium," and Jack Goheon, a reporter for the British media Daily Mail, commented that his press seat was "Old Trafford Roof" when it was wet with rain during the heavy rain.
However, despite the bad weather, as many as 64,195 fans visited Sangam Stadium, showing how much expectations were high for the match between Manchester City and Atletico.
The game began with Atletico's first goal. At the beginning of the game, Atletico aimed for the space behind Manchester City with a fast long pass, and Griezmann even tried to shoot, but the ball flew.
Manchester City immediately launched a counterattack. In the 3rd minute of the first half, Julien Álvarez attempted to shoot in a chaotic situation in front of the penalty box, but it was far beyond Atletico's goal. In the fifth minute of the first half, Grealish dribbled through the right side of the penalty box and connected the cross, but it was not delivered properly to the strikers in front of the gate.
As Manchester City continued to press Atletico, Holland also took the opportunity in front of Atletico's door. Holan, who overcame the competition with Witzel in the 7th minute of the first half and took a chance in front of the gate, later connected a right-footed shot, but was declared offside. Holan even made a gesture with his finger as if he were not offside.
Manchester City players surprised fans by easily peeling off Atletico's defense with a 2-1 pass in front of the penalty box.
Atletico also had a good opportunity in front of Manchester City's gate through a counterattack. In the 17th minute of the first half, DePaul, who was breaking into the penalty box, was fouled by Alvarez and took a threatening free-kick opportunity near the right side of the penalty box arc. However, the free kick was blocked by the defensive wall even though the course was sharp. Rather, Manchester City counterattacked and Holan even connected a shot inside the Atletico box.
Manchester City shook the net, but it was not recognized as a goal. Even though Rodri finished Foden's corner kick with a header in the 21st minute of the first half, it was declared a foul that Stones blocked Oblac and knocked it down in the previous situation.
In the 24th minute of the first half, Atletico moved near the Manchester City box as Reno broke through Walker and took a cross opportunity, but both crosses were blocked by Diaz and failed to lead to Morata in front of the gate.
Atletico collaborated with Morata and Reno on a threatening attack opportunity. In the 28th minute of the first half, Morata, who was rushing in front of the gate from Reno, beat Dias and finished with a header, but the ball flew a little high above the goal. Manchester City's low and fast left-footed shot attempted by Foden went off the side of the net in the 29th minute of the first half.
Atletico's counterattack based on promising player Reno was once again threatening, but was blocked in front of the gate. In the 34th minute of the first half, Lee Know's cross, which advanced to the right side of the opponent's box in a counterattack, passed through Manchester City's defense and was connected to Ederson and LeMa, who was in a one-on-one situation, in front of the gate, seemed to take a chance. However, Lema failed to catch the cross accurately, and Ederson immediately jumped in and caught the ball.
Manchester City also aimed for Atletico's goal with a mid-range shot as the attack was blocked by Atletico's defense. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Alvarez's mid-range attempt from the right side of the Atletico penalty box arc was caught by Oblak.
Atletico's ace Griezmann also created a decisive opportunity at the end of the first half. In the 45th minute of the first half, Griezmann broke into the Manchester City box through a solo breakthrough, but there were no teammates rushing together, and there was no scene that led to a score.
In the end, neither team scored and the first half ended 0-0.
Manchester City's sharp attack threatened Atletico at the beginning of the second half. Walker finished the ball off Griezmann in a free-kick situation in the 7th minute of the first half with a threatening mid-range shot, and the shot unfortunately hit Soe Yoon-joo and the goalpost and went out of the gate.
Manchester City immediately took the opportunity in the 10th minute of the second half, even though they put in candidates, excluding a large number of key resources such as Grillish, Silva, and Holan. In the 11th minute of the second half, McAtey, who rushed in front of the opponent's goal, received a long pass, beat Atletico's defense, and took a chance in front of the gate, but failed to properly attempt a shot. Sergio Gomes tried to finish the ball that bounced off the Oblock again, but it flew over the crossbar.
Atletico also replaced a number of key players, including Griezmann, in the 15th minute of the second half, who even caught the attention of fans by turning to the bench and waving to them.
Atletico actively attacked and scored the first goal when Manchester City's main resources were missing. In the 21st minute of the second half, Defai took a shot opportunity through a 2-1 pass against Angel Correa in front of the Manchester City penalty box and attempted a mid-range shot without delay. Defai's shot shook the net by stabbing the corner of Manchester City's goal.
Manchester City also had a threatening chance to counterattack, but was blocked by Atletico defender So Yoon-joo's performance. Rico Lewis' shot in the 23rd minute of the second half was blocked by So Yoon-joo's exquisite tackle and failed to reach the goalkeeper.
Atletico attempted a strong forward pressure to target the ever-shaking Manchester City defense and scored an additional goal. In the 29th minute of the second half, Carrasco widened the gap by cutting through Manchester City's net with a neat mid-range shot after breaking through in a counterattack.
Manchester City maintained a frustrating flow as there was no chase goal until the end of the second half, but the attack was released from the set piece. In the 40th minute of the second half, Dias connected the ball from a corner kick with a header, and succeeded in chasing by shaking Atletico's net.
Manchester City continued to aim for Atletico's goal afterwards, but failed to make an additional goal. In the end, the final whistle rang in Atletico's 2-1 lead.
Manchester City, which failed to show their skills properly in the match against Atletico, attracted a lot of attention at the time of entry, raising the expectations of Korean fans.
Manchester City entered Korea through Incheon International Airport on the 27th, winning all three tournaments in the 2022/23 season, the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester City has already started its Asian tour in Japan and defeated Japanese J-League club Yokohama F Marinos 5-3 on the 23rd, and won 2-1 against German Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich on the 26th, showing off its best club in Europe even though the season has not yet begun.
When Manchester City players appeared at the arrival hall of Incheon International Airport, interest was explosive. Starting with Jack Grillish, major players such as Phil Foden, Kevin De Briner, and Rodney appeared one after another. Many fans, regardless of age or gender, gathered, and hundreds of people appeared on the Manchester City squad at the arrival hall to cheer.
Ahead of the match, Manchester City players complained of difficulties in Korea's hot weather, and there is a high possibility that the heat problem has hampered the Manchester City team.
Ahead of the match against Atletico, Manchester City players trained at Reul Park in Mok-dong, Seoul, after entering Korea, and Manchester City players fluttered their tongues in the hot weather they had never experienced before.
"It's hot," Manchester City and England defender John Stones said as soon as they came to the training ground. Portuguese center back Huve Diaz did not forget to pack a water bottle, saying, "Moisture supply is really important."
"Monster striker" Elling Holan, who scored 52 goals in all competitions last season, sighed and greeted Taeyang. In fact, fans fully understood the reaction of Manchester City players as a heat wave warning was issued throughout Seoul on the 28th.
On the contrary, some players drew attention by saying that it was not hot even though it was a heat wave. England midfielder Calvin Phillips said, "It's so warm," while defender Kyle Walker joked, "It's freezing."
Manchester City players, who trained in the heat wave, moved the training ground to the Seoul World Cup Stadium, and later even conducted open training in front of fans.
Unlike Manchester City players, who could have been heavy in the heat, Atletico players showed some adjustment to the Korean heat wave through a showdown with the Team K League on the 27th, showing a somewhat more adjusted appearance than Manchester City.
Manchester City players also made efforts to leave memorable memories for Korean fans by carrying out various official schedules ahead of the game.
In particular, Holan, who grew up to be the world's best striker after moving to Manchester City ahead of the 2022/23 season, showed a wide range of moves on the Korean tour and became a beloved striker by Korean fans.
Manchester City's "monster striker" Holan said on his SNS account on the 28th, "When I was in Seoul...He posted a photo taken with Jisoo, a member of K-POP star 'Black Pink.'
The two took pictures with Manchester City uniforms, drawing envy from fans. The Coupang Play account, which hosts the match in Manchester City, also borrowed the lyrics from Jisoo's latest hit song "Flower" and posted a photo of the two with the message "I'm here to leave a scent of flowers."
Holan's move did not stop here. He also surprised Korean fans by meeting with Um Ji-yoon, a broadcaster nicknamed "Umland" for his similar appearance. Um Ji-yoon drew attention by releasing a V pose with Holan on her SNS on the 29th.
Um Ji-yoon has the nickname "Umland" among soccer fans, referring to "Holland" because of his face that resembles Holan. Fans' expectations were enormous because he met Holan. It is not yet known what kind of conversation the two had, but on social media, the meeting between the two is drawing keen attention.
Manchester City, which finished the match against Atletico, will immediately return to England and start preparing for the opening of the season. The 2023/24 season is scheduled to begin with a Community Shield showdown against Arsenal on August 7.
On the other hand, Atletico Madrid has two friendly matches left until the opening of the season even after the match against Manchester City. Real Sociedad will play a friendly match in Mexico on August 3, and Sevilla will play their last match of the season on August 6. Then, on August 15, 2023/24 La Liga 1st round against Granada.