Atlético de Madrid, the first opponent of Málaga CF in LaLiga EA Sports 2026-27, suffered a defeat in their pre-season match. Just 10 days before the start of the league season for both rojiblancos and blanquiazules at the Metropolitano (Wednesday, 19 August, 21:00), the team led by 'Cholo' Simeone lost 3-1 to Manchester City.
The Atleti had previously lost to the other Manchester team in a pre-season test match a week ago. Manchester United triumphed 2-1 over the rojiblancos, and now it was Manchester City's turn to defeat them by 3-1 in a match played in South Korea. Only one more pre-season match remains before the league opener against Málaga CF: on 14 August, against Olympique de Marseille.
With 10 days until their match against Málaga CF, Simeone still needs to bring back the majority of players who were present at the World Cup. In particular, the Spanish and Argentine players, who reached the final won by Spain. Marc Pubill, Marcos Llorente, Grimaldo, Álex Baena, Giuliano, Julián Álvarez... None of them participated in the match. Neither did two players who could leave the club soon: the Italian Ruggeri and the Argentine Nahuel Molina. Kang-In Lee, the latest signing for Atlético, did play.
Omar Marmoush, decisive
Atlético de Madrid was not enough with the 0-1 at the half-time mark by Jorge Domínguez, a 16-year-old central or lateral player and a sensation in the pre-season; nor with the promising debut of Kang-In Lee or the impressive return of Pablo Barrios against Manchester City. Omar Marmoush, with two goals in two minutes, and Ait Nouri, in the final minutes, gave the victory to City.
The 2-1 from the English team, just 129 seconds after the 1-1 within the 56th to the 58th minute, should not have been valid due to the offside position of Semenyo, the shooter of the two goals that turned the advantage gained by the rojiblanco team through their youth defense.
