Atlético de Madrid returned to full training on Wednesday following a trip to South Korea that was both enjoyable and ultimately disappointing. The club embraced the festivities and fanfare surrounding the tour while also integrating a new signing in South Korea international Kang-In Lee. However, the weekend ended on a sour note with a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.
Atleti’s preseason campaign has produced mixed results thus far. Before traveling to South Korea, the Rojiblancos played in Sweden,
where Manchester United defeated them in the Snapdragon Cup. Simeone’s men did enjoy an impressive 4-1 victory over Getafe behind closed doors in their opening preseason fixture.
Labeling Atlético’s performances in these friendlies as “failures” would be harsh. Diego Simeone has yet to have his full first-team squad available and has been forced to rely heavily on Atlético Madrileño products throughout preseason. Nevertheless, the Colchoneros will be eager to snap their two-match losing streak and build momentum ahead of their LaLiga opener.
Unlike Atlético, Olympique de Marseille have enjoyed a successful preseason campaign, posting a 4-1 record highlighted by a 3-1 victory over LaLiga side Athletic Bilbao. That momentum is something Bruno Génésio will look to maintain as he enters his first full season in charge of Les Phocéens.
The 2025/26 season was a turbulent one for Les Olympiens. Following their failure to reach the Champions League knockout playoffs, a humiliating 5-0 league defeat to PSG and a fifth-place finish in Ligue 1, the club and its coach Roberto De Zerbi mutually agreed to part ways, leaving Marseille set for Europa League football this season.
Génésio now faces a significant challenge in his first campaign at the helm. Marseille must replace the 61 combined goal contributions from Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who departed for Fenerbahçe and Deportivo de la Coruña, respectively.
Fortunately for Marseille, the summer has also brought some positive news. Hamed Traoré and Timothy Weah both completed permanent moves after successful loan spells, while smooth-passing Argentina international Facundo Medina arrived from Lens to strengthen the defense. Returning players such as Igor Paixão and Amine Gouiri will be relied upon to fill the goal-scoring void left by Greenwood and Aubameyang.
Marseille will be hoping to make a deep run in the Europa League while re-establishing themselves as genuine challengers near the top of Ligue 1. This will be their first meeting with Atlético since the 2018 UEFA Europa League final, a day all Colchoneros remember fondly.
Team news
Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the ongoing Julián Alvarez saga. We won’t break down every twist and turn here, but it’s worth mentioning that the Argentine returned to training on Aug. 10, as expected.
Cholo Simeone also returned from a short vacation this week and wasted little time speaking with Alvarez about his future. Simeone offered his support to the Argentine, stating that he was counting on him for the upcoming campaign while emphasizing that the decision to keep him at the club ultimately rests with Atlético’s hierarchy.
La Araña also held discussions with Mateu Alemany, who echoed Simeone and the club’s stance regarding the forward’s future. With both the manager and sporting director presenting a united front, Atlético will hope this long-running saga is over so attention can return to matters on the pitch.
Atlético were dealt a setback this week after Alexander Sørloth suffered a muscular injury, ruling him out for the start of the LaLiga campaign. Sørloth’s future has been the subject of plenty of speculation this summer: reports in June suggested that Juventus were preparing an offer, while several Turkish clubs were also linked with the Norwegian striker. Even before his recent injury, it was going to be difficult for any interested club to meet Atlético’s reported €40 million valuation. That challenge has only grown more complicated in light of his setback.
Following a brilliant outing against Manchester City, Pablo Barrios is continuing with his off-season training regimen and appears (fingers crossed) ready to go for the first league match against Malaga. Same goes for Johnny Cardoso, who returned to training just 80 days after his ankle surgery. Cardoso also featured against Man City and put in quality minutes in Seoul.
Thiago Almada, Nahuel Molina and Matteo Ruggeri will be absent from the traveling squad for transfer-related reasons. Almada recently completed a move to River Plate, while Molina joined AS Roma on Wednesday. Ruggeri also appears to be on his way out, with the Italian set to complete a permanent transfer to Aston Villa this week.
As for incoming business, Simeone appears to have found a solution to the defensive issues that plagued his squad last season. News broke on Wednesday evening that Atlético and Tottenham Hotspur have agreed on a permanent transfer for Cristian “Cuti” Romero. The club is also believed to be in negotiations with Racing Santander for teenage defender Jorge Salinas as it continues to strengthen the squad ahead of the new campaign.
Historical matchup
Atlético Madrid have faced Olympique de Marseille three times competitively and hold a 2-1-0 all-time record against the French club. Most recently and notably, the two clubs faced off in the 2018 Europa League final, where Antoine Griezmann scored a brace and Gabi added a late third to give Atlético their third Europa League title.
Possible XI: Oblak; Domínguez, Le Normand, Hancko, Martínez; Hjulmand, Cardoso, Barrios, Martín, Kang-In; Lookman.
Prediction: 2-1, Atletico win thanks to goals from Álex Baena and Ademola Lookman. Igor Paixão scores for Marseille.
Here is where you can watch Friday’s friendly.
Notable players who have represented both clubs
César Azpilicueta, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Renan Lodi and Arthur Vermeeren.
