Akanji redemption wins Community Shield

Manchester City won the Community Shield for the first time since 2019 with a 7-6 win over Manchester United on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Wembley on Sunday.

After a sluggish first half and a series of missed chances after the break – including a big one from Marcus Rashford – substitute Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead in the 82nd minute with a focused strike at the heart of the City defence.

That lead would last only seven minutes, however, when substitute Bernardo Silva headed in City’s equaliser at the far post to force a penalty shootout.

Bernardo missed City’s first penalty, but Pep Guardiola’s men played perfectly after that, with Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans missing for United.

City have now ended a run of three straight Community Shield defeats, while United are the only team to have lost four in a row (1998-2001).

Below you will find the full player ratings for Manchester City, who won another trophy.

Man City vs Man Utd player ratings — Community Shield

Manchester City (4-3-3)

Ederson – 7/10 – Couldn’t do anything about Garnacho’s goal, wasn’t really tested. Sent Onana the wrong way in the shootout after denying Sancho.

Rico Lewis – 7/10 – Search for ‘Rico Lewis’ on X and you’ll see that there are a lot of divided opinions on his performance here. For the record, he was pretty solid.

Manuel Akanji – 6/10 – Tried desperately to block Garnacho’s shot in front of goal but couldn’t make it to the ground in time. The goal wasn’t his fault at all though. Gained some redemption for his missed penalty shootout against England at Euro 2024 by scoring the winning shot here.

Ruben Dias – 5/10 – Didn’t cover himself in glory on goal, allowing Garncho to get past him and cause a terrible mix-up with Gvardiol. An excellent penalty in the shootout, though.

Josko Gvardiol – 4/10 – As above.

Mateo Kovacic – 8/10 – Probably Man City’s best player. Moved the ball quickly and tried to drive through the lines, always looking for loose balls. Needed Rodri next to him, to be honest.

Nico O’Reilly – 6/10 – He didn’t quite get into the game as he would have liked, but O’Reilly will be pleased with his solid debut.

James McAtee – 8/10 – Only one of his 30 attempted passes was missed and he came close to scoring, but his curling shot hit the post.

Oscar Bobb – 8/10 – Direct and electric, always looking to make something happen. The final ball was sometimes terrible, but he got it right and set up Bernardo’s equaliser.

Erling Haaland – 3/10 – No shots, no chances created, no impact. At least he scored in the shootout.

Jeremy Doku – 7/10 – Looked lively with his pace, especially in the first half. Missed a bit with his final ball.

Substitutes

Matheus Nunes (63′, for O’Reilly) – 5/10 – Didn’t get going in the final third and was shown a yellow card. Emphatically with his penalty, which even provoked a visible reaction from Guardiola.

Pep Guardiola when he saw Matheus Nunes’ penalty photo.twitter.com/pq1zWJVxKL

— KoffieJezus (@KoffieJezus) August 10, 2024

Savio (63′, for Doku) – 7/10 – Involved in the build-up to Bernardo’s equaliser and gave City fans promising glimpses of his debut. Sent Onana the wrong way with his penalty.

Bernardo Silva (80′, for McAtee) – 8/10 – With five touches, birthday boy Bernardo Silva levelled the match with a header and completed 100% of his passes. He couldn’t keep it up in the shootout, missing City’s first penalty with a tame effort.

Kevin De Bruyne (90′, for Bobb) – 6/10 – Had no time to intervene in regular time, but sent Onana the wrong way in the shoot-out.

Nathan Ake (90′, for Gvardiol) – N/A – No time to get into the game.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

André Onana – 5/10 – Had little to do until Bernardo’s goal in the dying moments, which Onana could do nothing about. Denied Bernardo in the shootout, but perhaps focused a little too much on his antics than keeping Man City players offside for the rest of the game.

Diogo Dalot – 8/10 – Made a huge shift in defence and always looked to push forward to support the attack. Almost blasted his penalty past Ederson.

Harry Maguire – 7/10 – Clean with the ball and looked solid defensively. Just a few rough patches and hopefully a sign of things to come this season.

Jonny Evans – 7/10 – He played the full 90 minutes and proved that he can be a regular option for Ten Hag again when needed. Well, as long as they don’t let him take penalties anymore. A truly terrible performance.

Lisandro Martínez – 7/10 – An old-fashioned full-back performance from a player who was out of position but kept things tight with three tackles, two clearances and 100% success in ground duels. Scored his penalty in style.

Casemiro – 8/10 – Looked like a completely different player to last season after what must have been a hellish summer break. Made a match-high seven tackles, while also completing eight recoveries and seven passes into the final third. At the heart of much of United’s best play. Cold as ice with his penalty.

Kobbie Mainoo – 7/10 – He was tidy with the ball and worked hard without it, but after the break he was quickly overtaken by his performances at Euro 2024.

Amad Diallo – 6/10 – Lively around the box but his decision making let him down. Could have scored in the first half but instead tried to play the ball to Mount.

Masonry installation – 6/10 – There were a few flashes of quality in tight spots, but it’s still far from completely sharp.

Marcus Rashford – 5/10 – Missed a great chance in the second half when he hit the post with his left foot inside the penalty area.

Bruno Fernandes – 8/10 – Had a great goal ruled out for offside and then provided the assist for Garnacho’s goal. Cut open the Man City defence on a few occasions with his precise passes. Scored in the shootout.

Substitutes

Scott McTominay (59′, for Mount) – 4/10 – Missed a huge chance to decide the game in the closing stages, but went with his right foot when the left shot was the easiest option. Barely touched the ball after that. Good penalty in the shootout.

Alejandro Garnacho (59′, for Diallo) – 9/10 – Like Bernardo for City, Garnacho changed the game completely from the bench and deserved his goal. Made no mistake in the shootout.

Toby Collyer (59′, for Mainoo) – 6/10 – A clean and controlled debut.

Facundo Pellistri (59′, for Maguire) – 2/10 – Fell asleep at the far post and gave Bernardo the chance to head in the equaliser.

Jadon Sancho (83′, for Rashford) – 3/10 – Did not get into the game and was kept off his goal by Ederson in the shoot-out.