Manchester City beat S. Korean league All-Stars in Seoul friendly

Manchester City secured a 3-1 victory over the South Korean K League All-Stars in a preseason friendly match held in Seoul on Wednesday. The Premier League side fielded a strong lineup, excluding Rodri and Erling Haaland, who recently excelled at the World Cup. Manager Enzo Maresca opted for a competitive squad, including Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, and Antoine Semenyo.

K League's starting XI included four players from the recent World Cup squad, with Lee Dong-gyeong as captain and Song Bum-keun in goal. The first half saw intense action, with Rayan Ait-Nouri scoring for Manchester City in the ninth minute. Just three minutes later, Kim Dae-won equalized for K League, and City responded swiftly with goals from Reijnders and Mubama in quick succession.

Despite both teams making substitutions, the second half became disorganized. K League's debut goalkeeper, Gu Sung-yun, made several crucial saves, including denying Phil Foden and preventing a goal by Jeremy Monga in the 74th minute. The match marked the fifth edition of the Coupang Play Series, with Man City participating for the second time. They will face Atletico Madrid in a rematch on Sunday.