Marmoush brace hands City winning end to Asian tour
Enzo Maresca's side wrapped up their preseason travels with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, a result that owed much to a second-half surge and a first-half display that deserved better than the scoreline suggested.
Omar Marmoush struck twice after the interval, with a late Rayan Ait-Nouri goal sealing a comfortable win after young Atletico right-back Jorge Domínguez had given Diego Simeone's men the lead just before the break.
Maresca named a strong starting eleven, keen to give his senior players a proper run-out as preparations for the 2026-27 season intensify. The opening exchanges were quiet enough, Atletico enjoying a spell of possession, but City soon found their rhythm.
In the second minute, a poor back pass from the Atletico defence let Tijjani Reijnders in, forcing Jan Oblak into a save. That was merely a warm-up for what followed. By the seventh minute, City had won the ball in midfield and Reijnders was surging at a backpedalling defence, only for his left-footed shot to be blocked. The rebound fell to Phil Foden, whose right-footed effort from a promising position was also repelled.
Savinho was the next to threaten, driving from the right and beating left-back Dani Martinez with neat footwork, but his shot lacked power and Oblak saved with ease. City were enjoying themselves down the right, with Savinho looking especially dangerous.
One thing that stood out was Matheus Nunes' reluctance to make forward runs once he had played the ball to Savinho. It was a deliberate tactic, perhaps, allowing the Brazilian the space to attack, but it was interesting to watch. It did, however, give Savinho the licence to drive at Atletico throughout the opening 15 minutes.
A corner in the 19th minute should have brought the opener. Foden floated a dangerous ball to the back post, where Josko Gvardiol headed wide with Oblak stranded. Martinez did well to crowd him out, but it was a chance that ought to have been taken.
Just before the hydration break, Savinho again went close, cutting inside after Reijnders' ball in behind was not dealt with by Martinez, before firing just wide of the far post with Oblak scrambling.
The wingers were causing constant problems. Between the 35th and 37th minutes, City carved out three openings from both flanks. Antoine Semenyo surged from midfield and played in a low cross that was cleared before Marmoush could tap in. Savinho then beat his man again and pulled the ball back across the six-yard box, but no one was there to apply the finish. He tried it again two minutes later, another teasing low cross that was cleared before any City attacker could connect.
Just as it seemed City would go in level, Atletico struck. A floated corner was only half-cleared to the edge of the area, and when the ball was put back in, Ruben Dias made a mess of his clearance. The ball fell to Domínguez, just outside the six-yard box, and the 16-year-old beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a composed right-footed finish after being played on by Gvardiol.
It was harsh on City, who had been the better side, but the defending from the corner was poor. Maresca will not have been happy with the manner of the goal. At the break, Simeone's side led 1-0.
The halftime whistle brought a single change from Maresca, with Rico Lewis replacing Vitor Reis. Gvardiol shifted to centre-back, Lewis slotting in at left-back. Atletico made no changes, both managers keen to keep looking at their starters.
Atletico had the first chance of the second half when Mateo Kovacic lost possession deep in his own half. Obed Vargas was played into a great position, but his shot was partly blocked, taking the sting out of it, and Donnarumma saved with ease. It was the kind of sloppy moment City could do without.
City were level in the 57th minute, and the goal was a thing of beauty. Kovacic played a ball to Semenyo on the left wing, but it was behind him and looked destined for a throw-in. Semenyo kept it in play acrobatically, surged to the byline, and pulled a low ball across the six-yard box for Marmoush to tap in.
Two minutes later, they were ahead. Semenyo was the creator again, getting in behind the defence and playing another good ball into the area for Marmoush to score his second. It did seem the Ghana international might have been offside, but with no VAR in use and the linesman's flag staying down, the goal stood.
Simeone made ten substitutions in the 64th minute, which rather killed the contest as a spectacle. The biggest cheer of the night, though, came for local hero Lee Kang-In when he entered the fray for Atletico.
From a City perspective, the sight of Semenyo and Savinho attacking from the wings was particularly encouraging. With a proper striker on the pitch, they might have had more to show for their first-half efforts. As it was, Marmoush's brace and Ait-Nouri's late strike made the scoreline look comfortable, even if the performance had been more convincing than the first-half score suggested.