By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- In the second half of Team K League's loss to Manchester City in a friendly match Wednesday, reserve goalkeeper Gu Sung-yun enjoyed an unlikely star turn on his home turf.

Team K League, with stars picked from across the domestic circuit, suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Premier League giants at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the capital. All three Man City goals came in the first half with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors custodian Song Bum-keun in net.

Gu replaced Song to start the latter half and kept the visitors off the board with a series of big stops. The one goal that did beat Gu, off a shot by Jeremy Monga in the 74th minute, was wiped out on a handball violation by the Man City midfielder.

Monga was denied by Gu in late moments, as were Omar Marmoush, Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden. The score could have been a lot more lopsided if not for Gu, who plays his home matches at Seoul World Cup Stadium for FC Seoul.

"It was a lot of fun. They are one of the best teams in the world and I was really happy to get a chance to play against these world-class players," Gu gushed. "During yesterday's training session, I kept telling myself I would have to be really quick against these players. And I was still surprised how fast their shots were."

Man City, despite missing stars like Rodri and Erling Haaland, still had a fairly strong starting lineup, while reserves entered the contest in the second half.

When asked if he would have preferred to have dealt with more first-team players, Gu said, "No, I think I was lucky not to be out there early."

"Just seeing them from the bench, I could see their tempo and shooting were just on a different level," Gu said. "And it is even more impressive because this is still their preseason and they are probably not in their peak form yet. I could see why Manchester City are such a great club."

Team K League head coach Chung Jung-yong said after the match that he was so impressed with Gu's performance that maybe the 32-year-old keeper should think about taking his talent overseas.

When told of the coach's remarks, Gu smiled and said, "I only played the second half here. I don't know how much Man City folks really saw."

On the offensive end for Team K League, Gangwon FC forward Kim Dae-won was the lone goal scorer. He, too, spoke about Man City playing on a much higher level than opponents he is accustomed to, but he also said beating Gianluigi Donnarumma, widely considered one of the world's top goalkeepers, will stay with him a long time.

"This is something I will be able to brag about for the rest of my life," Kim said. "I will try to build on this goal for the rest of this K League season."

jeeho@yna.co.kr

(END)

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