MADRID, 29 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Atlético de Madrid will face Manchester City this Sunday (1:00 p.m.) in their second pre-season match, corresponding to the Coupang Play Series tournament that is taking place in Seoul (South Korea) and with an evident increase in demand, after having started the colchoneros their summer preparation on the wrong foot.
The team coached by Diego Pablo Simeone fell last Thursday 2-3 against Team K-League, a team of South Korean soccer stars. And he did it by showing two different versions, with several of the usual starters dominating almost unsuccessfully in the first half, but with the usual substitutes seeing themselves traced back in the second.
At the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, the lack of skill was reflected in Álvaro Morata; or rather, it lacked neatness. With the buzz around his future, the Madrid striker did score up to three goals against Team K-League with the purpose of vindicating himself; but all three were annulled because Morata was offside.
The common headache for Morata, frustrated by those órsay situations, nevertheless spurred Samu Lino to take a step forward. His loan last season to Valencia CF had a gas effect and now the Brazilian attacker is looking to convince ‘Cholo’ Simeone that he can stay on the squad.
Precisely, polishing the offensive zone is the pending issue for Atlético. With the future of the Portuguese João Félix at stake, and even without closing the door to luscious offers that come for the Belgian Yannick Carrasco and the French Thomas Lemar, Simeone only has the certainties of Antoine Griezmann and Ángel Correa.
The continuity of Memphis Depay, limping this summer from his last spring injury, is unknown. That is why against Manchester City he will have a good opportunity to hit the table. In fact, the Dutchman trained normally this Saturday along with Jan Oblak, Marcos Llorente and the aforementioned Yannick Carrasco.
Still coupling the signings for the defense (César Azpilicueta, Çaglar Söyüncü and Javi Galán), the next challenge for ‘Cholo’ for the incipient preseason is to calibrate the offensive weaponry. And in his second meeting in Seoul he will do it against nothing more and nothing less than the current champion of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s men have played one more friendly than Atlético this summer. They thrashed Yokohama Marinos 3-5 and beat Bayern Munich 2-1. The Croatian Mateo Kovacic, the main addition to a ‘citizen’ team that continues to enjoy his brilliant hat-trick half a month after buttoning it, already commanded in midfield.