Atletico Madrid (ATmadrid) defeated “European Champions” Manchester City (Man City) in Seoul. The 64,185 fans at the stadium cheered and applauded throughout the match, despite the sweltering heat and sudden downpour, to support the clash between two of Europe’s biggest clubs.
AT Madrid defeated City 2-1 in the second leg of the 2023 Coupang Playoff Series at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Tuesday. It was a pleasant victory that washed away the disappointment of the Team K League loss (2-3) on the 28th.
Despite being a friendly match, both teams put up a good fight. City, who won the English Premier League (EPL), Football Association (FA) Cup, and UEFA Champions League (UCL) last season, started Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Hodrigo, Hubin Diaz, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Calvin Phillips, and Ederson in addition to the ‘monster’ Elling Holland. This is their best squad, with the exception of Kevin De Bruyne, who was on the bench due to injury.
AT Madrid will have Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Samuel Lienu, Toma Lemar, Koke, Rodrigo de Paul, Axel Witsel, Cesar Aspilicueta, Charlie Sowinzu, Mario Hermoso, and Jan Oblak in the lineup. The addition of goalkeeper Oblak, who missed the first leg, gives the team a solid defense.
The game was a battle of spears and shields. City pounded away at the opponent’s goal throughout the first half, led by the ‘Monster’ Elling Holland and Julian Alvarez, but the AT Madrid defense was able to keep them at bay.
Despite the lack of goals in the first half, players from both sides battled hard, with Aspilicueta receiving a caution for a rough challenge on City’s Jack Grealish. It’s also not uncommon in friendly matches to bring a number of first-team players off the bench after the first half, but both teams kept their starters on the field after halftime, with the exception of the goalkeeper.
The early stages of the second half were similar to the first. City’s starters, including Holland, had a number of shots on goal for AT Madrid but were unable to find the back of the net. Holland even had a shot on target in the 19th minute with a left-footed effort, but he was unable to capitalize and went to the bench nine minutes into the second half.
The goals started to come midway through the second half, when many of the starters from both teams went to the bench. Substitute Memphis Depay of AT Madrid opened the scoring in the 21st minute when he dribbled down the right flank before exchanging one-two passes with Angel Correa in the middle of a tightly packed defense 메이저놀이터 and firing a powerful right-footed shot from the front of the penalty box.
Buoyed by the momentum, AT Madrid added a second seven minutes later. Yannick Carrasco found the back of the net following a fantastic breakaway. City pulled one back in the 39th minute with a goal from Jubeng Dias, but there wasn’t enough time to turn the game around.
The game was a winner-take-all affair, but the fans in attendance applauded the passion of the players on both sides, especially as the game was delayed 40 minutes due to a sudden downpour.