Kitchee vs Atletico Madrid

Hong Kong Stadium sets the stage for an exciting summer friendly between Kitchee and Atletico Madrid.

The 2023/24 season wasn’t kind to the 12-time Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee, as they had to settle for a disappointing fourth-place finish. An abysmal form toward the end of last season saw the Bluewaves suffer three defeats in four competitive matches (W1), conceding multiple goals in each loss. Kitchee’s dreadful spell continued in their opening summer friendly, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat to Thai outfit Pathum United. It was the third time in their last five outings that Edgar Cardoso’s out-of-sorts team conceded on either side of halftime. They’ll need to vastly improve at the back to avoid humiliation in their first-ever encounter against La Liga heavyweights Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid finished fourth in La Liga last term, maintaining Diego Simeone’s perfect record of guiding his side to the Champions League group stages in every season in charge. Seemingly frustrated with another trophyless campaign, Simeone has changed his frontline, with Alvaro Morata and Memphis Depay leaving the club. Ex-Villarreal striker Alexander Sorloth will lead the line next season. While waiting for the Norwegian’s debut, Los Colchoneros will look to build on a 3-1 friendly win against Getafe after launching their pre-season campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 draw against lower-league Numancia. Both matches featured precisely two first-half goals, suggesting the opening 45 minutes could be fun to watch.