Manchester City 3 K-League All-Stars 1: Thoughts and observations from today’s friendly in Seoul. | OneFootball

Manchester City (Rayan Ait-Nouri 9′, Tijjani Reijnders 20′, Divin Mubama 23′,

K-League All-Stars (Kim Dae-won  12′,

Manchester City have X today against the K-League All-Stars at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. Today’s match was played in sweltering heat, with Jack Gaughan reporting that the temperature had reached 35 degrees ahead of kickoff.

Enzo Maresca made two changes to the City starting lineup form his team’s penalty shootout defeat to Inter Milan. Rayan Ait-Nouri and Ruben Dias replaced Stephen Mfuni and Savinho in Manchester City’s starting eleven for today’s match.

First half.

The first tactical tweak from Enzo Maresca that caught the eye was that Rayan Ait-Nouri lined up on the left wing. Manchester City’s back four seemed to consist of Rico Lewis at right-back, inverting into midfield. Tijjani Reijnders and Mateo Kovacic settled into midfield, with Phil Foden further advanced. Antoine Semenyo lined up on the right wing with Divin Mubama playing as the number nine.

Manchester City began the game brightly in the opening five minutes with their four-man high press causing the K-League All-Stars issues. In possession, City had their moments but as the game entered the seventh minute, neither team had fashioned a shot on goal.

Rayan Ait-Nouri fires City into the lead in the ninth minute.

Manchester City took the lead in the ninth minute. Antoine Semenyo played in Tijjani Reijnders on the right. Reijnders worked himself into a very good position to cross with some clever footwork and he played a good cross into the K-League All-Stars area. Reijnders’ cross was deflected into the path of Rayan Ait-Nouri, who fired past Som Bum-Kuen in the K-League All-Stars goal with his right foot to give Enzo Maresca’s side an early lead.

The K-League All-Stars respond immediately to falling behind and equalize three minutes later.

Manchester City’s lead wouldn’t last long as the K-League All-Stars would equalize three minutes later. The K-League All-Stars created a good opening and a ball behind the City defence was kept alive well by Yago just before the byline. The K-League All-Stars striker pulled the ball back to the edge of his area where Kim Dae-Won fired in a stinging low drive from the left-hand side of the City area. Dae won’s strike beat Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post to make it 1-1. Dae-Won’s strike went through legs but Donnarumma would have expected to do better with the shot.

Tijjani Reijnders restores Manchester City’s lead after a touch of class from Antoine Semenyo.

Manchester City took a 2-1 lead in the 20th minute. After the K-League All-Stars enjoyed a spell of possession, Enzo Maresca’s side responded. Phil Foden played in a dangerous cross from the left which just evaded Divin Mubama for a back post tap in. City maintained possession and Rico Lewis received the ball on the right. Lewis played a ball to Antoine Semenyo and set off for a one-two. Semenyo played a clever back heel which picked out Tijjani Reijnders, instead of Lewis  in the K-League All-Stars penalty area. Reijnders beat the K-League All-Stars keeper Som Bum-Kuen to make it 2-1 to City.

Divin Mubama makes it 3-1 with an instinctive finish.

Divin Mubama would put City 3-1 up and in a strong position three minutes later. Antoine Semenyo cut inside from the right wing and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike on goal from 20 yards out. Som Bum-Kuen got down well to parry Semenyo’s shot away but the ball fell to Divin Mubama. Mubama tapped in from six yards out to give Enzo Maresca’s side a 3-1 lead. Semenyo’s pace and power were great to see. Also, Mubama’s striker instincts were on full display, which saw him grab his second goal of Manchester City’s preseason tour of Asia.

Following a hydration break after Divin Mubama’s goal, Manchester City picked up where they left off. There was an energy, pace and intensity to City’s attacking play that was impossible to ignore. Once Enzo Maresca’s side sensed an opening in the K-League All-Stars’ defence, they would attack it at full throttle. Tijjani Reijnders and Antoine would both have opportunities to further extend City’s lead in the 10 minutes following the hydration break that took place in the 24th minute.

Initial thoughts on Manchester City’s first-half performance.

Manchester City would take a 3-1 lead into the interval. Enzo Maresca’s side were more than good value for their lead and some of their attacking play was irrepressible. There was real intensity and pace to City’s work in possession in the final third and a fluidity to their positioning in the final third which did befuddle the K-League All-Stars backline.

The stand out tactical tweak that was impossible to ignore was Rayan Ait-Nouri playing on the left wing. Ait-Nouri grabbed a goal and his overall performance and link up play on the left was impressive to see.

Second half.

Both teams made a plethora of substitutions at halftime. Manchester City brought on Marcus Bettinelli, Vitor Reis, Max Alleyne, Stephen Mfuni, Nico Gonzalez and Savinho. They replaced Gianluigi Donnarumma, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Abdukodir Khusanov, Mateo Kovacic and Antoine Semenyo.

In the 53rd minute, each side had an opening to score. First, Tijjani Reijnders saw a free kick from 25 yards out, which was well saved by the K-League All-Stars substitute goalkeeper Gu Sung-Yun. The rebound fell to Rayan Ait-Nouri, but he couldn’t get enough power on his shot, which Sung-Yun claimed with ease. Sung-Yun unleashed a long throw to the left wing which set Kim Ju-Chan away on the break. The K-League All-Stars left winger got himself into a good position to shoot inside the City penalty area but Vitor Reis and Rico Lewis combined to block. The rebound came back to Ju-Chan who fired in another shot that beat Marcus Bettinelli in the City goal but hit the post and went out.

On the hour-mark, Enzo Maresca made five more substitutions. The entire City eleven had been replaced as it was clear that players’ minutes were being managed due to the heat and oppressive conditions that the match was being played in. The second hydration break arrived in the 67th minute, which was needed as the game was beginning to enter a lull.

The match had an exhibition feel to it as it entered the final ten minutes.

As the game entered the 80th minute, it began to resemble an exhibition match. The K-League All-Stars were trying to attack to find another goal to make a game of it, but it was to no avail. Manchester City had lost their rhythm after making eleven substitutions. Omar Marmoush would see a stinging shot saved by Gu Sung-Yun as the Egyptian international looked to have an impact in his first appearance for Manchester City’s preseason.

Jeremy Monga created another chance for Marmoush in the 83rd minute. Monga cut inside from the left wing and set up Omar Marmoush for a shot. Once again, Gu Sung-Yun saved Marmoush’s strong shot and parried the ball away.

Gu Sung-Yun would deny Jeremy Monga with a good save low down to his left. Monga cut inside from the left wing and curled a low drive from 18 yards out on goal. The K-League All-Stars substitute keeper made another smart save to deny Monga a goal.

Savinho would see a late shot saved by Gu Sung-Yun and Claudio Echeverri would curl an effort wide in the 90th minute. From there, the final four minutes played out without incident and Manchester City would claim a comfortable 3-1 win over the K-League All-Stars.

Thoughts on the second half.

There wasn’t much to take from the second half in terms of Manchester City’s performance. The substitutions took the flow out of the game and the heat and humidity also contributed to a rather slow pace in the second half. However, that is understandable given that the match is only a preseason friendly.

Enzo Maresca would be happy to see his team pick up a win, although the result is essentially meaningless. Jeremy Monga and Savinho were lively on the wings in the second half, which was pleasing to see. Aside from that, Manchester City got through the match and hopefully came out of it with no injury concerns.

Thoughts on the performances of the Manchester City players.

Gianluigi Donnarumma- He’d be disappointed to be beaten at his near post but it doesn’t mean much in a friendly. 

Abdukodir Khusanov- Like Gvardiol and Dias, Khusanov got through the first half before being taken off.

Ruben Dias- Dias captained City for the first half and he didn’t have a lot to do.

Josko Gvardiol- The Croatian international eased his way through the first half before being taken off at halftime. 

Rayan Ait-Nouri- The Algerian international played on the left wing and was very good. He scored a goal and showed that the strengths of his game suit an Enzo Maresca side. 

Rico Lewis- Another tidy display from Lewis playing as in inverted right-back. 

Mateo Kovacic- A better performance from Kovacic than his display against Inter. He looks to be building nicely.

Tijjani Reijnders- A much better display from Reijnders. He scored a goal and grabbed an assist as the way the game was played suited him.

Antoine Semenyo- Another powerful performance from Semenyo. He was lively once again and a constant threat to the K-League All-Stars backline. Semenyo looks set for a huge 2026-27 season. 

Phil Foden- A good performance from Foden. He dropped into midfield more often in the 15 minutes of the second half that he was on the pitch.

Divin Mubama- Another poachers performance from Mubama. He grabbed a goal and could have scored a hat trick in the first half with a bit more luck.

Substitutes.

Marcus Bettinelli- He didn’t have much to do but it was nice to see Bettinelli on the pitch for Manchester City.

Stephen Mfuni- The young defender was cool and composed in possession and he didn’t have a lot of defending to do at left-back.

Max Alleyne- He did what he had to do at the back. What he did have to do, which wasn’t much, he did comfortably.

Vitor Reis- Another cool and composed showing from Vitor Reis.

Nico Gonzalez- He got through another 45 minutes which is all he had to do.

Savinho- Another promising display from Savinho. After watching him in City’s first two friendlies you do wonder if he’s playing himself into Enzo Maresca’s plans.

Matheus Nunes- Nunes cruised through the minutes he was on the pitch.

Claudio Echeverri- He made one nice run and curled a late shot wide, but coming on when the game had peetered out didn’t suit him.

Omar Marmoush- The Egyptian international had two shots on target after coming on but getting through his minutes on the picth is all that mattered for him.

Jaden Heskey- Heskey didn’t really do a lot but it was good to see him on the pitch.

Jeremy Monga- A very lively cameo from Monga. He looks to be a player who is destined for bigger things in time.