European champion Manchester City lost to Atlético Madrid (2-1) on Sunday at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, in an intense and contested friendly match. The two compositions looked very much like eleven types, with the exception of Skyblues side Kevin De Bruyne, back in training after his injury in the Champions League final and remained on the bench.
The match fell apart when Memphis Depay, who arrived at Atlético this winter from Barça, took advantage of a nice delivery from Angel Correa at the entrance to the area to lodge a dry shot into the back of the net ( 66th). Then it was the turn of Yannick Carrasco. Served by Depay, the Belgian concluded his rush by finding the target from the outskirts of the zone of truth, too (74th). Ortega, who had repelled a ball on his line (47th) after replacing Ederson at halftime, remained helpless.
Until the opening of the scoring, the game had not really held any surprises: the Citizens, on the strength of their C1 treble, championship and FA Cup, dominated the debates, although awkward, like Phil Foden (29th). Pep Guardiola’s men still reduced the mark through Ruben Dias (85th), serial scorer Erling Haaland having failed to find the fault in 55 minutes of play. The European champions therefore had to settle for a defeat to celebrate their “treble”, the three trophies having made the trip to South Korea.
