Manchester City surrendered their unbeaten pre-season record with a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Memphis Depay and Yannick Carrasco came on in the second half and scored to shock City, who pulled one back in the dying minutes through Ruben Dias’ header.
An entertaining, end-to-end match saw the teams enter half-time at 0-0, but it was Atletico’s second-half changes which proved superior as Pep Guardiola’s second string struggled to find their rhythm.
The Sky Blues created plenty of chances and that will be an encouraging takeaway. On the back of wins over Yokahama Marinos and Bayern Munich, City’s tour of Asia has proven a success, both in a footballing and commercial sense, but this loss dampens the mood.
Here are three things we learned.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring in the second half as Atletico’s substitutions paid off
Yannick Carrasco scored the crucial second goal which gave his side breathing room over City
Ruben Dias rose above the opposition with ease to convert a late headed consolation
Pep Guardiola hammers home hard work message even amid punishing heat and jet lag
These are such important weeks for every team up and down the country but particularly for those in European competitions. Pep Guardiola has been on it in Asia, demanding no slacking throughout training sessions.
Given the packed schedule, Guardiola scales training back as the season wears on, only out on the grass for just half an hour at a time during some points of the run-in, so City aim to squeeze the majority of their new tactical work in before the first game of the campaign.
The heat waves in both Japan and South Korea have not been ideal for that, with Guardiola saying that they have not been able to work at the intensity he might have hoped. It was somewhat ironic, then, that the final friendly before the Community Shield, in Seoul against Atletico Madrid, was almost called off because of the weather, with a 40-minute delay to kick off.
Even with the heat, and a squad struggling with jet lag throughout, the messages have remained strong through from manager to squad.
‘To be honest, sometimes after a season like we had, when you start training again and we’re pressing high and we lose the ball, maybe you don’t track back like you used to,’ Nathan Ake explained.
Nathan Ake, who sat out with Kevin de Bruyne, said Guardiola has ‘hammered’ City in training
‘Last season, after you have been fighting everything, maybe it takes a little while to get back to that. But from the very first day, the manager went into that and made sure we were doing the same things.
‘If you don’t start doing it now then it’s going to be too late for the Arsenal game, the Sevilla game and the Burnley game. So that’s why he’s hammered us straight away, so that we have the same work rate. He’s been on top of us.’
Tactical tweaks provide insight and prove Kyle Walker’s vlaue as Diego Simeone’s side provide tough test
There were some minor tweaks on show in Seoul, which could prove instructive to how City plan to defend their various titles. Julian Alvarez played up with Erling Haaland and City operated with a lopsided three in behind.
Phil Foden was off the right but spent most of the night centrally, freeing up space for Kyle Walker to maraud forward. The set-up proved once more why Walker is so crucial to Guardiola, because there is nobody else in this squad who could perform that role to the same degree. Trailed by Bayern Munich, City have offered the right back a new contract.
It’s a subtle difference on the same theme, although John Stones wasn’t asked to move into midfield quite so much given the ground Walker had to cover. The 4-1-3-2 will represent another string to City’s bow if they can crack it.
Julian Alvarez played up front with Erling Haaland and was one of their brighter sparks in Seoul
Guardiola resisted to make a raft of changes at the break, saving them for the 55th minute, which provides an indication on the team he will pick for Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal. Nathan Ake, Kevin De Bruyne and Cole Palmer all sat out the last friendly with injuries.
City escaped without any further knocks, despite a niggly affair with Atletico, who saw Cesar Azpilicueta cautioned early on for hacking at Jack Grealish. Diego Simeone’s touchline histrionics and the surrounding of the referee made this feel like a competitive fixture at the end of a well-organised trip on the pitch.
City mania in Asia points to a successful trip as 23,000 fans watch team train
City were flying back to Manchester straight after Atletico and chief executive Ferran Soriano will be looking back on a job well done, because this has been a City tour like no other and one that earned them in excess of £16million. The scale and interest has ramped up to new levels in a fortnight that encapsulated what a draw the club are these days.
The Treble factor and the Haaland factor helped City take over this continent for three matches and it was mayhem everywhere. Even when Haaland was serving pie and chips out of a van at one fan event.
Twenty-three thousand people turned up to just watch training in Seoul’s World Cup stadium and the Premier League champions were mobbed at the airport in scenes that even surprised staff. More than six million people are subscribed to Coupang Play, who streamed City’s training session and the Atletico match.
The Man City fanfare has been strong in South Korea, as well as Japan when they were there
The meeting with Atletico sold out within 30 minutes of tickets going on sale – with fans back in England struggling to source tickets for the two Tokyo friendlies as well.
Queues for merchandise snaked right around the Japan National Stadium, the shops completely emptied as they set records for matchday sales. Thousands turned up for pictures with the three trophies and at events at karaoke bars and PUMA stores.
Guardiola did concede that they were here for commercial reasons but it seems to have had the desired effect, which isn’t always the case for these overseas jaunts.
‘I wasn’t prepared for what has happened,’ said ambassador Shaun Wright-Phillips. ‘It’s fantastic and shows where the club has now got to. These players aren’t just stars in England. They are global superstars – and they deserve that after what they’ve achieved.
‘The fanbase just keeps growing. Every time I come to this part of the world, the number of fans who come out keep getting bigger and bigger.’
