Manchester City 1-1 [7-6 on pens] Manchester United: Guardiola’s side end five-year Community Shield wait

Manchester City finally won the Community Shield for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, defeating Manchester United on penalties in the 194th Manchester Derby.

Despite United taking a late lead, Bernardo Silva’s equaliser took the game to penalties, where City were able to make some amends for last season’s FA Cup final defeat in one of the most dramatic shootouts in recent memory.

As it happened

It was always going to be a draw. In years gone by, it would’ve been. City and United would be able to share the trophy and keep it in Manchester, devoid of partisan rivalry, a purely Mancunian piece of silverware. But in 2024, draws just don’t happen in cup finals.

As first halves go, the Community Shield’s didn’t so much feel as a clash of titans, but a bear fight. Not a regular bear fight though. In this fight, the two bears in question had clearly arisen from hibernation far too recently to truly punch with as much vigour as they might have intended.

The opening 20 minutes exemplified this. Manuel Akanji made a habit of picking up the ball and playing it too long and wayward – Joško Gvardiol did the same; Marcus Rashford tried to channel his inner Aiden McGeady, but accidentally spun himself in a knot and out of play; Erling Haaland and Harry Maguire even ran straight into each other. There was an element of real sloppiness at the start of the game.

But, of course, that’s to be expected. This is the Community Shield and, in many ways, it exists to help juggernauts ease themselves out of that hibernation.

That said, this wasn’t just any Community Shield. Let’s not forget that this was the 194^th Manchester derby and a replay of the FA Cup final no less. There was so much more at stake today than just a bit of preseason silverware; pride, revenge and the rights to claim the Hacienda for at least two more months were all on the line.

So it was no surprise that the two sides would eventually find their feet and hit their stride. The first to do so was Manchester City, albeit a weakened version of the World Champions. There was no Rodri, no Phil Foden, no John Stones. Instead, youngsters were thrown in the deep end. Nico O’Reilly lined up in the base of midfield next to Mateo Kovačić, James McAtee was tasked with replicating the role of Phil Foden, and the star of pre-season Oscar Bobb was given the task of finding an angle from the right.

Fittingly, it was he who would find the first opening of the game, cutting into the box past Lisandro Martínez, jinking past Johnny Evans for good measure, but blasting a left footed strike well clear of the crossbar.

That effort came 22 minutes in. Only a minute later, City would be ruing another missed chance, and another that came straight from the academy. This time it was McAtee, who moments earlier had read Bobb’s instruction manual and followed suit. He did all that was asked; he found space on the right after a mistake from Martínez, he cut past another and he took aim at goal. Unlike Bobb, though, McAtee didn’t prioritise power. Instead, he curled his effort ever so delicately, but could only watch on as it agonisingly bounced off the far post and back into the box.

With City now well and truly awake, it was time for United to really enter the fray. It was a total role reversal; it had just been all City, now it was well and truly all United.

Amad Diallo was first to try his luck, slaloming into the area before curling a low shot well wide. Then he chose the unselfish option, finding himself in the same spot before squaring it to a Mason Mount who was more Patrick Bateman in the sense that he simply was not there.

Bruno Fernandes tried next, blasting a fierce effort from way out that could’ve taken Rúben Dias’ head clean off had he not been tensing his neck muscles. Finally, it was Marcus Rashford’s turn, who found himself on the end of some gorgeous interplay before putting his effort wide of the post. All of those chances came in a period of seven blistering minutes.

But alas, come half time the game was goalless. United seemingly realised towards the end that fire has to be fought with fire, so they adopted some frankly Pep Guardiola-esque patterns of play; one touch to Kobbie Mainoo, another to Casemiro, another to Fernandes and suddenly Rashford would have space to shoot. At times, they were almost carbon copies of the goals they scored in this very fixture in the FA Cup final 77 days ago – but the difference was the net didn’t bulge.

It would eventually, though. The Red Devils took to the second half in the same way they’d finished the first, and pretty soon Bruno Fernandes found himself in his perfect spot.

On the 54-minute mark, latching onto the ball just on the edge of the area, he took one look up, picked his spot, and emphatically found it. His shot was pinpoint, dipping and deadly. Ederson couldn’t stop it, but in the end, he didn’t need to; the linesman did it for him. Fernandes’ run was premature, and the goal was chalked off because of it.

Both managers would switch things up around an hour in, with Erik ten Hag making four substitutions in one go before Pep Guardiola introduced City’s new kid on the block Savinho. This felt needed, particularly from City, who had gone a little stale; the Brazilian wasted no time getting involved, either, and played up to the stereotype of a player from his country in his position by taking on his man and struggling to find the final pass.

Meanwhile, it was still Bruno Fernandes looking most likely to score, as he found himself on the receiving end of a tremendous Casemiro ball over the top but come time to pull the trigger he could only limply find the grateful chest of Ederson.

This was a game which lacked a controller. No one was in charge for either side, certainly with the absence of Rodri, without whom City had failed to win a game of football since April.

This wasn’t a game that would be won with domination. All one team needed was a quick break or a moment of magic. In the 75^th minute, that’s exactly what United got. City had been playing too high a line, and against Alejandro Garnacho, that’s a bad move. The Argentine got hold of the ball, sprinted goalwards with Rashford along side him, It was a two-versus-one. It had to be a goal.

But no. Garnacho did the right thing, squared it to Rashford to dispatch into an empty net, and watched as he went and hit the post instead. Had they had their shooting boots on, Manchester United would’ve won the game and some by now, but instead they were level and goalless.

It didn’t end there for Rashford, either. Only four minutes later and on the end of a terrific corner, he nodded the ball down and just in front of Scott McTominay, who couldn’t quite adjust his body in time to poke home.

But by this point a United goal was inevitable. All they needed was for someone to take responsibility, roll up their sleeves and do it themselves. And that man was Alejandro Garnacho.

Picking up the ball outside the City penalty area, he drove goalwards with purpose, speed and determination. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. All he needed was the smallest of angles to slip the ball past Ederson and into the near post. It all went exactly to plan. Next thing, City’s keeper was picking the ball out of his net and Garnacho was wheeling away into celebration, ‘Viva Garnacho’ ringing around the red half of Wembley Stadium, and indeed the red half of Manchester.

And that was that. With eight minutes left to play, they’d surely done it now. History had repeated itself, with United about to defeat City at Wembley once more.

That was what the script said, anyway. But there was someone who’d only recently been substituted on that clearly hadn’t read it. Bernardo Silva isn’t a target man, but he used that to his advantage. Ghosting into the area, it was no wonder United didn’t spot him. He’s diminutive – he’s supposed to be making crosses, not finding himself on the end of them.

But this time he was. Oscar Bobb lifted a terrific ball into the area after a lovely interchange with Savinho, and Bernardo Silva leapt like a Portuguese salmon to force the ball past a helpless Onana. 25 years on from Paul Dickov’s Wembley miracle, Manchester City showed again that they cannot be ruled out.

So penalties were to be the inevitable decider. This, in itself, a repeat of history; last year’s Community Shield final was decided from the spot too. But, of course, that time round, City didn’t win.

If you could picture a dramatic penalty shootout, this was it. The Portuguese contingent stepped up first with varying levels of success. Bruno Fernandes scored (like he always does), but Bernardo Silva feebly hit his to Onana’s left and watched him comfortably save it.

Then the goals started flying in. Dalot, De Bruyne, Garnacho, Haaland; all without a hitch. Then stepped Jadon Sancho, eager to make amends with his manager, but helpless as his penalty was pushed onto the post and out by Ederson.

From here on out, a miss would likely mean defeat and the players knew that. So, too afraid to even contemplate messing up, the next seven penalties all went in. All of them.

That was until Johnny Evans stepped up. Penalties aren’t his biggest strength; clearances are, so he elected to clear his penalty over the bar. Manuel Akanji waited in the wings and smashed home the next penalty to take the Community Shield back to the Etihad for the first time in five years.

In a fair world, it would’ve been a draw through and through. But, it’s not. Instead, it’s a blue world, and Manchester City can finally celebrate the Community Shield once more.

Both sides will return to Premier League action next weekend, with Manchester United looking to shrug off today’s defeat when they host Fulham on Friday, while their blue rivals will look to build on this result when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea next Sunday.

The lineups

MCI: Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovačić, O’Reilly; McAtee, Bobb, Doku; Haaland

MUN: Onana; Martínez, Maguire, Evans, Dalot; Mainoo, Casemiro; Rashford, Fernandes, Amad; Mount