Atletico Madrid beat Man City in Seoul friendly

SEOUL: European champion Manchester City lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid on Sunday at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul in an intense and hard-fought friendly.

The two teams fielded starting lineups close to full strength, although Kevin De Bruyne, injured in the Champions League final, remained on the bench.

Memphis Depay gave Atletico the lead in the 66th minute, collecting a pass from Angel Correa on the edge of the area to fire past Stefan Ortega, who had replaced Ederson in goal at half-time.

Yannick Carrasco added a second from the edge of the penalty area in the 74th minute.

City had beaten Bayern Munich in Japan on Wednesday but did not score until Ruben Dias pulled a goal back. Serial goal-scorer Erling Haaland played 55 minutes but could not find the net.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone said he was satisfied with his side’s performance.

“We played with the tranquillity that characterises us,” he said.

Moreover, Liverpool geared up for the start of its new Premier League campaign with an impressive display in Singapore on Sunday as it thumped English rival Leicester City 4-0 in a pre-season friendly.

Goals by Darwin Nunez, Bobby Clark and Diogo Jota in an eight-minute spell late in the first half gave the Reds a 3-0 lead at the interval.

Ben Doak then headed in its fourth midway through the second half to seal a thumping victory at the National Stadium. Agencies

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