admin Manchester City lost to Atletico Madrid in their last pre-season game of the summer and need to beat Arsenal better.
The preparation time has expired. When Manchester City next take the field, the trophy will be awarded in Sunday’s Community Shield against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.
Jack Grealish has previously admitted he is “desperate” to win a traditional opener he’s lost in the last two campaigns and his role in the game may already have been confirmed.
Pep Guardiola used his recent pre-season performance as a dress rehearsal before the Arsenal game, naming the strongest starting XI available despite the difficult conditions.
For a while it looked like the game against Atlético Madrid would never take place as a storm devastated the World Cup stadium in Seoul before kick-off, preventing play on the pitch.
The start of the game was delayed by 40 minutes while match officials awaited safety conditions and there was no time for the usual post-game media interactions due to time constraints.
City chartered a return flight shortly after the game and Guardiola wanted his players to return to Manchester as soon as possible to continue the Community Shield preparations. And he may already have his season-opener squad in mind, with the only question marks being the fitness of Kevin de Bruyne and Nathan Ake, both of whom lost that game.
The pair, along with Cole Palmer, watched from the bench as their team-mates warmed up before the game, a first glimpse of their potential back-up roles at Wembley Stadium next weekend.
City started well as a lively Julian Alvarez shot over the bar in the first half after centre-forward Erling Haaland confused defenders with a great play. Their partnership was key to their approach throughout the game and it was Alvarez who was quick to parry a short Haaland attack whose shot was parried by Jan Oblak.
What’s exciting about the team that started the game is the sheer abundance of attacking options and the way they can switch positions on the fly. Jack Grealish terrorized opposing defenses by taking a yellow card from Cesar Azpilcueta and while he didn’t bother her, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden took turns testing forward runs.
The City Academy graduate wasn’t the best in his new role in midfield but showed just how good he can be as he captured the ball with his left hand from a tight angle and made a small try just wide.
By far the toughest test of their three pre-season games, Atletico should have scored when Alvaro Morata headed just over the bar from close range.
The La Liga side relied on brief moments to do their damage and nearly scored again when Thomas Lemar was picked out in the box, but Ederson snatched the chance to claim the ball after his loose touch. A lack of end product proved to be the running theme for much of the match, and although it is always difficult to read too much into these contests, the leggy performance suggested City might still be one game behind where they’d hope to be at this stage of the summer.
City changed their entire outfield side at half-time against Yokohama a week earlier and another eight at the break against Bayern. The fact they only swapped Ortega for Ederson in Seoul was a further indication of who is most likely to start under the famous arch.
Four minutes into the second half, the substitute ‘keeper made a brilliant stop to claw out Samuel Lino’s header, as Atletico players furiously protested that it had crossed the line. City soon went just as close at the other end when Kyle Walker’s sweetly struck effort took a slight deflection and cannoned off the crossbar.
https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.manchestereveningnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Ffootball-news%2Fman-city-atletico-highlights-report-27422727&cre=bottom&cip=18&view=web
That was the signal for the wholesale changes to follow, with Alvarez and Ruben Dias the only two outfield players to keep their places on the pitch. You sense they’d have gone off too, had two of the sidelined trio been fit enough.
City seemed to lose a little bit of edge, and with the poor finishing that followed, it was clear why those introduced are not yet first-choices. Mateo Kovacic somehow fired the bar over after a goalmouth scramble caused by James McAtee’s brilliant run behind the defence that itself should have ended in a goal.
Atletico felt empowered by their changes and started counting quickly. Ortega saved the score with another big save, but was only able to get it with a right hand when Memphis Depay’s vicious try broke the stoppage.
Guardiola won’t be too surprised if his side lose control of the game only after substitutions, although he is right to worry about how easily Yannick Carrasco flew down the left wing and scored in a furious second goal.
There was at least some applause for the lively fight that took place in the closing moments as Dias trusted a mostly blue and sold-out crowd as he headed in a Sergio Gomez cross and scored the consolation goal.
To express so many fears after such a defeat would be unfair given the circumstances of the game, which ended an energetic tour and all will be forgotten when he lifts another trophy next week. Ortega’s excellent saves show he’s ready for another appearance at Wembley, although it may be too soon for Ake and De Buryne.
