Rich Fay’s preseason travel diary concludes as Manchester City returns home ahead of the new season.

The pouring rain in Seoul was the ideal warm-up for another season in Manchester if the goal of pre-season is to acclimate players to their new surroundings.

When the heavens opened just before kickoff at the World Cup stadium, it appeared that Man City’s final preseason match wouldn’t go on. However, the granite grey sky was soon replaced by sky blue throngs of fans.

Few people had packed an umbrella or anything similarly waterproof because the rain was so unexpected. I instantly regretted my personal clothing choice of shorts and a white t-shirt when I arrived drenched at the press door and appeared as though I had just swum there from Japan.

For the last few days of the tour in South Korea, everything appeared to have been cranked up a notch. The weather was more severe, and the degree of support was increased. The game itself wasn’t exactly a spectacle, with another sold-out audience seeing a dull contest.

The fact that all of the goals were scored after City had already made significant personnel changes will allay their worries, even though Kevin de Bruyne wasn’t one of them.

The Belgian was the most well-liked player over the three matches of the tour despite not playing a single minute of football. More people cheered when they saw images of him on the stadium screen than when any goals were scored.

Erling Haaland was a close second. Despite having little chances to score against Atletico, he was active in his movement and still managed to give the crowd a memorable evening.

At full time, he and De Bruyne started a brief lap of appreciation to express their gratitude to the many supporters. Haaland made a beeline for a Norwegian flag that was being waved in the crowd, and when he flung his match-used shirt over the billboards, it sparked a commotion.

After the postponed kickoff, City hurried for their chartered aircraft, so there was no time to catch up with Pep Guardiola at full-time. However, there will be a chance when he previews the Community Shield at the end of the week.

The great thirst for City in this area has been made abundantly obvious by the summer tour. In Seoul, the vast majority of fans wore sky blue, however some showed up in the colors of their Premier League rivals in order to see Europe’s top side in action.