As omens go, this could be a bad one for Manchester City. They never win the Community Shield. And then they always win the Premier League.
It was back in 2019 that Pep Guardiola last tasted victory on an afternoon of unnecessary pomp and circumstance, and he seemed quite pleased with it. These days are not important, for either team, although Erik ten Hag might have liked to beat his old colleague for the second time in 11 weeks in this stadium in front of the Ineos grounds.
As it was, two rarities. Not just a City win, but a City win on penalties. It is telling that hundreds of fans had actually left Wembley in the minutes before a shootout in a Manchester derby. The trains must have been really bad.
In force, but without Bruno Fernandes to score the first goal and Manuel Akanji to score the last – with Bernardo Silva, Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans spilling the ball in between – City stole the glorified friendly.
Ten Hag couldn’t quite repeat the trick at the scene of his great escape, the FA Cup, which seemed destined to be his final afternoon as United manager. Ultimately, he saw an unsuitable City with a less experienced line-up secure a draw through substitute Silva.
Manuel Akanji scored the winning penalty and Manchester City won the Community Shield
United took the advantage in the shootout after Andre Onana denied Bernardo Silva from the penalty spot
But misses from both Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans put City back in the lead
But there have been good moments and, with progress on deals for Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, more form in their backline before the season gets off to a good start. With the signings Ten Hag wants, this must be the time he sorts out a consistency and a consistency of excellence. He has witnessed moments of quality and moments of disorganisation.
A pattern emerged between the United protagonists, displacing opponents, pushing into unoccupied spaces.
Those were the moments that offered encouragement to those who insisted Ten Hag could forge his own style. Better late than never, two years later, but two moves just before the breakthrough were positive.
Amad Diallo’s effortless saunter from City’s left provided a useful outlet and United would have done well to get more around him. When they did, Casemiro offered the cavalry and the Premier League champions were outmanoeuvred. A one-two between the pair saw Amad break free and instead of shooting, he turned on Mason Mount. Mount, starting his second game since November, was rocking on his heels.
Similarly, Amad would create another chance – linking up with Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes at high speed – only Marcus Rashford never looked confident of hitting Ederson’s far corner.
James McAtee came closest to opening the scoring in the first half when his shot hit the post
Pep Guardiola opted for a youthful team at Wembley with four youth players in the starting line-up
United seemed to have taken the initiative and played a strong period after the break
A breathtaking skewer over Ederson by Fernandes was later ruled out for offside after a piercing pass from Lisandro Martinez. And much later, with 15 minutes left, what felt like the decisive few seconds of this friendly came when substitute Alejandro Garnacho galloped away down the right, with Josko Gvardiol in his wake.
Garnacho raised his head, saw Rashford and laid down. Help yourself, a left-footed half volley. Post, wide. Rashford left.
Ten Hag called the 26-year-old ‘committed, ambitious and motivated’ to put right the mistakes of last season, but in front of goal it felt more like the same.
Garnacho had seen enough and a total refusal to involve anyone else with eight minutes to go meant United thought they had won. A super run along City’s back line, rounding defenders and taking advantage of Ruben Dias’s drop to fire into the far corner. Ten Hag’s game plan seemed perfect at that moment.
City generally seemed the more pressing players, with debutant Nico O’Reilly’s boundless energy giving them something extra in midfield and Oscar Bobb’s tricks causing unrest for left-back Martinez.
Marcus Rashford hits the post and Bruno Fernandes’ goal is disallowed for offside
Alejandro Garnacho looked to have secured victory for United with his late strike
James McAtee, the floating No.8 who learned the Guardiola method in the youth academy, hit the post when Martinez played a pass to his own third base.
Bobb snuck past the Argentine and Jonny Evans in a flash and surged forward, with the build-up to the match dominated by a pirouette from McAtee in the centre circle.
It was like the cup final of 78 days ago: City were clearly dominant, failed to take advantage and United found their rhythm.
That said, it meandered and the mind wandered. When was the last time the horribly filthy translucent Wembley roof had been properly cleaned? They should probably book someone to do that.
What did Pep Guardiola hit fourth official Sam Barrott on the arm for? Does the fact that Manuel Akanji and Ruben Dias are just back from holiday make up for the fact that they hit balls straight out of play?
Outside, waving corporate tickets, an American family – Boston Red Sox fans, by the looks of it – ran around the perimeter of Wembley, desperately trying to find their way in. They didn’t miss much and Guardiola, without Jack Grealish due to a minor injury, didn’t seem particularly pleased with a steady stream of rather cheap concessions of possession – particularly from his keeper.
The Argentine winger opened the scoring after cutting inside in the closing stages
City refused to give up against their rivals and Bernardo Silva came off the bench to equalise
Not a great start to the season. But unlike the cup final, his spirits had brightened with 88 minutes on the clock and Bobb, who had threatened to do something else all afternoon, took a wrong turn around Diogo Dalot and clipped in for substitute Silva to head a header past Andre Onana.
To a shootout that no one really wanted, and a long one too, with Ederson’s save from Sancho as the catalyst. Akanji, the man who missed for Switzerland against England, did not repeat that.