City v Atletico Madrid: Our last trip to Seoul | OneFootball

City face Atletico Madrid in Seoul this summer, three years on from an identical fixture that had all the hallmarks of a pre-season classic.

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We go up against Diego Simeone’s famously combative and spirited side in a 13:00 (UK) kick-off on Sunday 9 August, rounding out a three-match tour of Asia that will also take in Hong Kong.

All the games – against Inter, K League All-Stars and Atletico – will be live globally on CITY+, except in the host country as well as the homeland of our opposition.

There’s a lot that will be new about City this time around as we get used to life beyond Pep Guardiola’s decade-long stay, while Simeone’s Atletico come into the summer after a campaign of near misses and a new, more attacking style of play.

It’s three years since we faced them at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, with City going into that one as European champions.

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Our status as the Champions League winners, as well as the stylish football we’d already been playing for well over a decade by that point, meant we were a star attraction in the South Korean capital.

Upon arrival, following two games in Japan, we were immediately greeted by a huge, excited crowd at Incheon airport before meeting another adoring mass outside our hotel.

There they remained throughout our stay, in scenes akin to historic world tours by the likes of the Beatles or Rolling Stones.

Every appearance out of the hotel for training or to sample local culture turned the volume up several notches, with players stopping for photos and to meet fans who had made posters or accessories with the faces of their favourite squad members, whether Erling Haaland, Rodri or less-illustrious youngster.

The only cloud that hung over a trip that signalled City’s status in Asia was a rather literal one.

Intense humidity and heat is nothing new in east Asia in the summer months, but the resulting storm threatened to derail the main event.

Thousands came out to watch us train in the stadium the day before the game, with sky blue shirts aplenty.

That went off without a hitch, with the sunshine and warmth providing a brilliant backdrop to the stunning scenery.

However, the forecast suggested the heavy rain would be landing on the Korean capital shortly before kick-off.

Still, 64,000 came to the stadium in hope, with the vast majority in sky blue rather than Atletico’s famous red and white.

And just before warm ups could begin, so the deluge arrived. Such was its ferocity, that standing water was left on the surface within minutes and the start of the game was delayed.

As it slowed, the surface drained and a kick-off time 40 minutes after the original was agreed upon by the two sides.

The whole stadium had bravely stayed in place and gave rapturous cheers as the players emerged for a truncated warm up.

By the start of the game, the pitch appeared in decent order with the ball rolling and bouncing as expected.

It was City who made most use of those facilities in the first 20 minutes, with the pick of the chances falling to Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian’s strike was pouched by Jan Oblak but gave a hint that City – and the Korean fans forced to wait for the weather to clear – were up for it.

City were neat and tidy in possession, with Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez, who now plays for Atletico, in particular linking up nicely in the pockets.

However, determined defending meant countless opportunities were snuffed out before shots could reach the goalkeeper.

Alvaro Morata was guilty of missing Atletico’s best chance of the first half, glancing a header over from just a few yards out on the half hour mark.

City immediately returned the ball to the other end and Foden, cutting across the pitch from an inside right position, struck a shot that was inches away from the opener.

In contrast to the previous two games in Asia, Guardiola made just the one change at half-time as Stefan Ortega Moreno took the place of Ederson.

Ortega Moreno was almost immediately busy, scooping a scuffed attempt at a close range conversion off his line and away from goal just three minutes into the second half.

Those wholesale changes instead came almost 10 minutes into the second half, with the entire backline and midfield switching out.

That was not before Kyle Walker struck the bar with a deflected thunderous drive from all of 30 yards.

Atletico’s team changed significantly just beyond the hour mark, a few minutes after City.

That seemed to inspire them into action and it was only another three minutes before substitute Memphis Depay hammered the Spanish team into the lead from 20 yards.

The Dutch international will feel he should have had a second minutes later when an incisive Atletico break ended with a sweeping shot from 12 yards that Ortega Moreno was equal to.

The German goalkeeeper was powerless to stop the next shot on his goal however, as Yannick Carrasco cut in from the left and hit a dipping effort out of his reach.

City rallied for the final throws and Ruben Dias, one of only two City men to play the whole match, grabbed a consolation with a thumping header in the 84th minute.

And so, the Blues rushed to the airport to prepare for the Community Shield now less than a week away.

However, we did so knowing that we would return to Seoul before long.

Watch our 2026 tour games on CITY+!

Subscribe to CITY+ now to see all three of City’s games during our 2026 pre-season tour of Asia.

We start in Hong Kong against Italian champions Inter on Saturday 1 August, with kick-off at 12:30 (UK).

After that, we go to Seoul to play a K League All-Stars side on Wednesday 5 August and then Atletico Madrid on Sunday 9 August.

All three will be available to watch on mancity.com and our official app for current CITY+ subscribers in supported locations*.

Available for £34.99 for an annual subscription or £4.99 per month, CITY+ gets you closer to the Club than ever before, with documentaries, live games and full-match replays throughout the season.

*Exact regions and territories to be confirmed.

https://www.mancity.com/city-plus/cityplus-subscribe