City’s Mixed XI Triumphs in K-League Friendly as Reijnders and Semenyo Shine
Pre-season friendlies rarely crackle with jeopardy, but they do reveal pecking orders, experiments and the occasional star turn. Against a K-League XI, City’s hybrid side – part first-team, part future – strolled through long spells of control, with Tijjani Reijnders and Antoine Semenyo stamping their authority on the contest.
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s evening boiled down to one moment, and he lost it.
Donnarumma exposed, defence on cruise control
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s night was brutally simple: one shot that mattered, one that beat him. Conceding at his near post for the K-League XI equaliser will sting a goalkeeper of his stature, especially when the rest of his shift involved little more than collecting the ball from his net. Rating: 5
On the right, Rico Lewis ticked through his work quietly. Solid, tidy, but without the same spark he shows when he steps into midfield lanes. His performance again underlined the sense that his long-term future lies further up the pitch, where his intelligence and press-resistance really breathe. Rating: 6
Abdukodir Khusanov barely broke sweat. With City dictating tempo and territory, the Uzbek defender’s pace was rarely called upon. He glided through his 45 minutes, unruffled and largely untested. Rating: 6
Ruben Dias took the armband and, with it, the air of a man who might keep it. Vocal, organising, and visibly relishing the responsibility, the Portuguese centre-back looked every inch a permanent captaincy candidate in a post-Bernardo Silva hierarchy. Rating: 6
On the left of the back line, Josko Gvardiol quietly auditioned for a different role. Maresca has a stack of centre-backs; using Gvardiol at left-back could solve two problems at once. Here he looked comfortable and untroubled, a steady presence rather than a headline act. Rating: 6
Midfield engine: Kovacic sharp, Reijnders outstanding
Mateo Kovacic looked like a man who has left last season’s injury frustrations behind. Sharp on the turn, demanding the ball, he knitted play together with the assurance of someone who knows he might be starting when the real stuff begins, especially if Rodri remains absent. Having already said the club “count on me” this season, he played like it. Rating: 7
Alongside him, Tijjani Reijnders was the standout performer. Given licence to roam, he drove through lines with those long, marauding runs that defenders hate tracking. He played a major role in the opener and then thundered in a superb second, a rasping finish that underlined his attacking threat from deep. This was a performance that should move him up the pecking order. Rating: 8
Rayan Ait-Nouri operated higher up than usual, pushed forward from his familiar left-back berth. The change suited him. He took his goal with real composure, a crisp first-time finish to break the deadlock that spoke of a player comfortable arriving in the box, not just overlapping into it. Rating: 7
Semenyo sparkles, Foden off target, Mubama poaches
From the right, Antoine Semenyo was a constant menace. Lively, direct and inventive, the Ghanaian winger produced the game’s audacious moment: a clever flick that teed up Reijnders’ goal and drew a roar from the crowd. He looks like a player riding his form, not chasing it. Rating: 8
Phil Foden floated between the lines, forever scanning, always available. He found pockets, linked play, and then, when the chance came, he lashed over from a position he would normally relish. It summed up his night: influential in shape, but without the decisive touch. Rating: 6
Divin Mubama, by contrast, made his big moment count. The young striker pounced on a goalkeeper’s spill, reacting first to sweep in his second goal in as many pre-season outings. A classic poacher’s finish that will not go unnoticed by the coaching staff. He should have had another, somehow failing to convert with the goal gaping, but his stock still rises. Rating: 7
Second-half cameos and young auditions
Marcus Bettinelli, usually watching from the shadows as third-choice goalkeeper, looked composed when called upon. He handled the pressure of a rare outing well, stepping out confidently to claim a high cross and steady the back line. Rating: 6
Vitor Reis produced one of the more eye-catching defensive interventions of the second period, sprinting back to make a crucial block as the K-League XI broke with intent. It was the kind of recovery run coaches remember. Rating: 6
Max Alleyne read the game neatly, sliding across to snuff out an opposition attack with smart positioning rather than last-ditch drama. Rating: 6
Savinho, so bright against Inter, could not quite find the same rhythm here. The touches were there, the intent too, but the impact was muted this time. Rating: 6
Nico Gonzalez showed for the ball repeatedly, eager to take responsibility in midfield. With Rodri out, he knows there is an opening to step forward, and his willingness to be involved will help his case, even if the game passed without a defining moment. Rating: 6
Stephen Mfuni banked more valuable minutes at left-back. For the England youth international, these steady, mistake-free outings matter almost as much as spectacular ones. Rating: 6
Matheus Nunes, back from World Cup duty with Portugal, slotted into his now-familiar right-back role. It still feels like a reinvention in progress, but he handled it calmly, keeping his flank secure. Rating: 6
Omar Marmoush, another returning from World Cup action with Egypt, worked hard to make something happen in the box. His timing deserted him: one header drifted off target and two further efforts were repelled by the goalkeeper. The movement was there, the finishing touch was not. Rating: 6
Jaden Heskey’s appearance carried a hint of intrigue. With his brother Reigan leaving the club this summer, Jaden’s own future remains an open question. He did little wrong, but little decisive either, leaving the decision-makers with more to ponder than to celebrate. Rating: 6
Claudio Echeverri entered after the break but struggled to impose himself. The Argentine saw flashes of the ball without producing a moment to linger in the memory. Rating: 6
Jeremy Monga, the £10m teenager freshly arrived from Leicester, finally pulled on a City shirt for the first time. There was a glimpse of what excites the recruitment staff, and he thought he had capped it with a debut goal, only for it to be ruled out. A frustrating detail, but an encouraging introduction. Rating: 6
Subs not used: Jack Wint, Max Chabot, Kaden Braithwaite, Matty Henderson-Hall, Divine Mukasa, Xavier Parker, Floyd Samba, Mahamadou Sangare.
Pre-season rarely offers definitive answers, but it does pose sharp questions. On this evidence, Reijnders and Semenyo are demanding bigger roles, Mubama is kicking at the first-team door, and Dias is making a compelling case for the armband. How many of those threads will still be live when the real campaign starts?
