Antoine Semenyo set up both of Omar Marmoush’s goals as Manchester City recovered from a half-time deficit to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 in a pre-season friendly in Seoul, South Korea.
City were punished for a defensive mistake from a corner shortly before the interval. Koke’s delivery was not cleared convincingly, allowing Morten Hjulmand to find 16-year-old Jorge Dominguez, who finished beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to put Atletico ahead.
The Spanish side’s advantage lasted until the 57th minute, when Semenyo helped City produce an equaliser through a fine piece of individual play.
The Ghana international managed to keep the ball in play before surging forward from the left and entering the Atletico penalty area. His low cross reached Marmoush, who converted from close range to restore parity.
City completed their turnaround only two minutes later, with Semenyo and Marmoush combining again. This time, the winger delivered another low ball from the left and Marmoush finished the move to claim his second goal of the match.
Rayan Ait-Nouri added a third in stoppage time. Divin Mubama sent the full-back through and Ait-Nouri kept his composure to drive a low shot into the bottom corner.
More than 50,000 supporters attended the match at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Atletico’s South Korean international Lee Kang-in was given a particularly warm reception when he entered the game in the second half.
The fixture was Manchester City’s third and final match of their pre-season tour of Asia. They began the trip with a penalty-shootout defeat by Inter Milan after a 1-1 draw in Hong Kong, before recording a 3-1 victory over a K League All-Stars side in Seoul.
City will now prepare for their next competitive fixture, the Community Shield against Premier League champions Arsenal. The match will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, 16 August.
For Semenyo, the performance offered further encouragement as he continues to adapt to Enzo Maresca’s attacking system. His pace and ability to provide dangerous deliveries from wide areas were central to City’s second-half comeback, with both of Marmoush’s goals created from the left flank.
The result also gave City a positive conclusion to their Asian preparations after they had been forced to settle for a draw against Inter Milan before losing the subsequent shootout. Their victory over Atletico Madrid ensured they ended the tour with successive wins in Seoul and momentum ahead of the meeting with Arsenal.
