Six talking points as Man City beat Manchester United in penalty shootout
MAN CITY 1-1 MAN UTD (7-6): A late header from Bernardo Silva cancelled out Alejandro Garnacho's opener and it was Manchester CIty who came out on top after an historic penalty shootout
Manchester City ended their Community Shield hoodoo by beating Manchester United on penalties to claim the first piece of silverware of the season.
United thought they'd snatched victory in the 82nd minute when substitute Alejandro Garnacho produced a cool finish past Ederson and scored against City at Wembley once again. Erik ten Hag's men had enjoyed the better of the chances, too, with Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay each squandering guilt-edged opportunities before Garnacho made the late breakthrough.
But City weren't about to lose their fourth Community Shield in a row without a fight, as Bernardo Silva popped up with a 88th-minute header, forcing the first ever Manchester Derby penalty shootout. After stepping up first, Bernardo's miss gave United hope until Jadon Sancho missed his own spot kick and Jonny Evans blazed over, allowing Manuel Akanji to win it for City.
Here are six talking points from Wembley.
1. Pep picks the youth
While the focus was on Erik ten Hag's threadbare options in defence and at striker, Pep Guardiola still managed to selected the least experienced of the two XIs. You wouldn't know it, though, as City methodically controlled the opening exchanges and their youngsters were doing much of the damage.
The advanced midfield pairing of Nico O'Reilly and James McAtee, 19 and 21 respectively, rarely had their backs to goal, with the latter even hitting the post in the 23rd minute after City capitalised a sloppy pass from United's Lisandro Martinez. Meanwhile, Jeremy Doku picked up where he left off in the FA Cup final by terrorising the right-hand side of Ten Hag's defence.
On the right flank for City, Oscar Bobb was forcing Marcus Rashford to track back and should've done better when he chopped inside hit a shot which flew over Andre Onana for a goal kick. United did forge the clearest chance of the first half an hour, though, as Amad's square pass to Mason Mount was a yard too far in front of the No.7 and drifted across the face of an empty net.
2. Rusty Rashford
That missed chance signalled a shift in the game as United began to turn the tide with half-time looming - no surprise given that the exciting Amad saw more of the ball - a golden opportunity fell to Rashford. In acres of space on the left of the box, the 26-year-old looked certain to curl the ball around Ederson and score the opening goal.
But Rashford got it all wrong, skewing his effort wide as England interim boss Lee Carsley looked down from the stands. That wasn't even his most glaring miss of the afternoon, as with 15 minutes to go, substitute Alejandro Garnacho squared the ball to Rashford for a simple finish past Ederson - but he hit the post and left Wembley stunned.
There's no doubt that it's another huge season for the United forward, who scored just seven goals in the Premier League last season and missed out on Euro 2024. Ten Hag's trust remains, but it won't last forever if United continue to strength their attack.
Your turn! Will Marcus Rashford get back in the England squad? Give us your prediction in the comments section
3. Ederson suffers Guardiola's wrath
Call it a glorified friendly but Guardiola was certainly this one seriously judging by his reaction to Ederson launching a kick out of play on the stroke of half-time. The City boss was visibly annoyed with his goalkeeper and could be seen complaining about Ederson's wayward pass to a member of his coaching staff before storming down the tunnel after the whistle was blown.
It comes just a day after Guardiola confirmed that the Brazilian wouldn't be leaving City this summer, despite an offer from Saudi Arabia. Injury prevented Ederson from finishing the season as City's No.1 goalkeeper, as Stefan Ortega stepped in, and there's no guarantee that he'll be the man in goal against Chelsea next Sunday.
4. Ten Hag experiments with Pellistri
Since being signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020, it's been difficult for Facundo Pellistri to get a look in at United. There was even stage where the winger played more regularly for Uruguay than the Red Devils but last season saw him finally afford some game time and break into the senior squad on a regular basis after multiple loans.
But this was perhaps a bittersweet appearance for Pellistri, as he came on at right-back. The 22-year-old, who didn't feature in pre-season because of the Copa America, was instantly shown the extent of his task when Doku sped past him and created a chance of City, but again they couldn't convert and the game was still there for United to take.
5. Garnacho at Wembley again
When Scott McTominay couldn't connect with a Rashford knockdown with 10 minutes remaining, it looked as if it wasn't to be United's day. Fortunately for the Red Devils, another substitute in Garancho came up with a goal.
Slaloming inside from the right, the Argentina international picked his spot and beat Ederson before wheeling away in front of the Wembley crowd just as he did 11 weeks ago at the other end. But City had a response in them.
6. Bobb and Bernardo combine
The Pellistri experiment may've worked for a while, but when Bernardo Silva headed in to equalise in the 88th minute, it was no surprise to see the United man he'd beaten. Bobb caused problems down the left once more and when he got the better of Martinez, his cross found the Portuguese to make it 1-1 and take the game to penalties.
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