Deadlocked in attack against a famous opponent for defensive play, European champion Man City fell to Atletico Madrid in a friendly match in Seoul
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After two consecutive victories in the summer tour of Asia against Yokohama F.Marinos (5-3) and Bayern Munich (2-1) in Japan, Man City had a friendly match with Atletico Madrid in Seoul – Korea Country. This is the last friendly match of Man City before they return to their home country, waiting to face Arsenal in the Community Shield match on 6-8 August.
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Coach Pep Guardiola launched the strongest component in this third friendly match and soon took control of the situation. From Bernardo Silva to Erling Haaland, they launched dangerous shots at the start of the game, but they could not subdue the defense and goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
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Even when Rodri headed home the Spanish team from Phil Foden’s right-wing corner in the 21st minute, the referee still denied the goal because John Stones had fouled an opponent earlier.
Still loyal to a solid defensive position, Atletico Madrid began to organize a counter-attack and created many situations that made Man City fans’ hearts flutter. Within just a few minutes, Lino went down to the left side of the ball and created a very favorable assist, only unfortunately, all Alvaro Morata to Thomas Lemar took turns to miss.
After the break, the two teams alternated many positions on the field, including the two goalkeepers. From here, waves resurfaced in front of Stefan Ortega’s goal of Man City and Atletico Madrid’s Ivo Grbic. The opportunity continued to be created by Man City and Kyle Walker and James McAtee, Julian Alvarez took turns to miss.
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Man City is deadlocked in attack, but Atletico Madrid makes the best use of rare coordination situations in front of the English team. In the 66th minute, Memphis Depay coordinated with Angel Correa before launching a left-hand shot close to the penalty area, leaving goalkeeper Ortega helpless.
Eight minutes later, Yannick Carrasco dribbled from the left flank into the center before delivering a dangerous shot from long range, making Atletico Madrid 2-0. Until the 85th minute, Sergio Gomez cornered the left wing for center-back Ruben Diaz to head high to score, shortening the score to 1-2 for Man City.
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It’s too late for “The Citizens” to expect a comeback like it did with Bayern Munich three days earlier. Defeating 1-2 in a defeat to the opponent in many aspects, including the spirit of competition, Man City has grounds to worry when the season is near.
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Pep is not yet assured with Man City before the new season
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