Manchester City closed its 2026 Asia Tour with a 3-1 comeback win over Atlético Madrid on Sunday in Seoul, turning a one-goal halftime deficit into a convincing result behind two rapid goals from Omar Marmoush.
Atlético took the lead in the 43rd minute through 16-year-old Jorge Domínguez. The teenager’s goal sent Diego Simeone’s team into the break ahead and gave the Spanish side a reward for a competitive first half at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
City answered almost immediately after the game settled into the second half. Marmoush scored in the 57th minute from an Antoine Semenyo assist to make it 1-1. Two minutes later, Semenyo created another opportunity and Marmoush finished again for a 2-1 City lead.
The two-goal burst defined the night. Friendly matches in August often become disjointed as coaches make waves of substitutions, but City found its sharpest attacking moment before the game fully broke open. Marmoush’s finishing and Semenyo’s final ball gave Enzo Maresca exactly the kind of decisive sequence a coach wants to see at the end of a tour.
Semenyo’s performance also completed a productive run through Asia. Manchester City said he recorded four assists across the club’s three matches in Hong Kong and South Korea. Two came against Atlético, and both directly changed the result.
Rayan Aït-Nouri scored City’s third goal in the 90th minute after coming off the bench, making the final margin 3-1. The late goal gave City a comfortable scoreline, although Atlético had stayed within one goal for most of the second half.
The game also featured one of the most anticipated local moments of the event. South Korea international Kang In Lee made his Atlético debut after joining the club from Paris Saint-Germain. Atlético signed him through June 30, 2031 and introduced him as its new No. 7.
Kang entered in the second half in front of a home-country crowd and came close to tying the game. His appearance was an unusually well-timed debut: a Korean star beginning a new chapter with a Spanish club in Seoul, in a stadium filled for a match against one of England’s most recognizable teams.
Simeone said afterward that Kang will need time to adapt to Atlético’s style, a reminder that the visibility of the debut should not be confused with readiness for a settled role. The Atlético coach also praised Domínguez’s development while emphasizing the need to manage expectations around a 16-year-old player.
For City, the competitive clock is already moving. The Atlético game was the final match of the Asia Tour, and Maresca’s team now turns its attention to the Community Shield against Arsenal in Cardiff. Maresca’s own postgame comments reflected the change: the testing phase is over, and the next match carries a different level of consequence.
The crowd in Seoul underlined why the trip mattered beyond preparation. The official attendance was 50,078. City and Atlético had met at the same stadium in the 2023 Coupang Play Series, when Atlético won 2-1 and the attendance was listed at 64,165.
That recent history gave the 2026 game a little extra context. Atlético had already beaten City in front of a huge South Korean crowd three years earlier. This time, City responded after falling behind and left with the win.
The event also reflected how global preseason games have evolved into full entertainment productions. City’s official match report said K-pop artist San performed before kickoff and Rescene performed at halftime. The combination of European soccer, local music and Kang’s debut made the match feel closer to a major international showcase than a closed-door fitness exercise.
For American soccer fans, the most useful takeaway is still the football. City showed that its attacking depth can change a match quickly. Marmoush was the scorer, Semenyo was the creator and Aït-Nouri added a goal from the bench. That does not guarantee anything once competitive games begin, but it does give Maresca several players carrying positive momentum into the next stage.
Atlético’s useful takeaways are different. Domínguez produced a major moment against elite opposition. Kang got his first minutes without being asked to start immediately. Simeone had an opportunity to test his squad against a team that is already moving from preseason into a trophy match.
No one should overread a summer friendly, especially one played after long-distance travel and with extensive substitutions. But the best preseason games provide clear questions and a few clear answers. City’s answer in Seoul was that it could respond to a setback with speed and efficiency.
Down 1-0 at halftime, the English side needed only two minutes of second-half finishing to take control. That is the part of the 3-1 scoreline that matters most as the season approaches.