Winning Adu Penalti Against MU, Man City Wins Community Shield

Manchester City won Community Shield. (X/@ManCity)

JAKARTA - Manchester City emerged as a Community Shield champion after beating Manchester United on penalties 7-6 (1-1) at Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday, August 10, 2024 evening WIB. MU defender Jonny Evans failed to complete the task so Man City lifted the opening trophy of the English Premier League competition.

The Premier League champion Man City did not field the best squad at Community Shield. The Spanish and English players who competed in the Euro 2024 final were not played because they had just returned from their vacation. Pep Guardiola's manager did not field Rodri, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden and John Stones against MU.

On the other hand, Guardiola fielded four academy players. But pillars like Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji remained a starter. Likewise, goalkeeper Ederson finally stood under the bar. The Brazilian national team goalkeeper was questioned because of his condition. It's just that, he then became the first choice.

MU, the winner of the FA Cup, did not come down with the best composition. Manager Erik ten Hag made changes after centre-back Harry Maguire could play. He had a duet with Evans at the heart of the defense. Meanwhile, Leandro Martinez, who is a central defender, was shifted to the left to take over Luke Shaw's duties.

Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes, who plays false 9 and new striker Joshua Zirkzee, sits on the bench. Fernandes was supported by Marcus Rashford, Masont Mount and Amad Diallo.

With a formation that is among the best, MU is able to show its dominance. In fact, they won the ball process and almost took the lead when Fernandes beat Ederson in the second half. However, the goal was disallowed from Fernandes in an offside position.

MU finally managed to take the lead after winger Alejandro Garnacho broke into The Cityzens' goal in the 82nd minute. He completed Fernandes' assist and seems to be repeating last season's FA Cup final. Garnacho opened MU's victory and then completed Kobbie Mainoo's goal.

But MU's chance to win was dashed. Towards the end of the match, Andre Onana's goal was broken by Bernardo Silva who met Oscar Bobb's pass. The goal changed the score to 1-1 and lasted until the end of the match.

The match was immediately continued on penalties. Man City started badly because Silva failed as the first executor. Only, the Red Devils also failed through Jadon Sancho.

Until the fifth kicker, the score was still in a 4-4 draw. When entering the sudden death, Akanji successfully netted the ball. But Evans failed to complete the task. The score ended 7-6 for Man City.

Guardiola also succeeded in bringing Man City to the Community Shield trophy for the third time. He also admitted that he was satisfied because he could beat a city rival who according to Guardiola was difficult to beat.

"Starting the competition by winning the title after defeating our rivals at Manchester is definitely a very good thing. We are really happy," said Guardiola.

However, the former Barcelona coach said that Man City did not show the best game. On the other hand, MU is actually very dangerous when controlling the game.

"We are easy to lose the ball. We have to admit that the transition is made to make them one of the best teams in the world. They are very dangerous when they control the match. But in the end we won," he said.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag admitted that he was disappointed with the failure. The team was recorded twice as likely to win. But they failed to do so.

"It's a hard result to accept. When we showed our best performance but instead lost, of course you felt very disappointed. It felt like pain in the stomach. But this gave us confidence in the face of the league," said Ten Hag.

"We've actually tried to match the level of Man City. We created many chances and were able to put pressure on them. The possession of the ball gave us many good opportunities. We took the positive side of this defeat," he said.