Manuel Akanji named Man City’s best penalty taker after Community Shield win

Manuel Akanji earned some credit on Sunday when he scored the winning penalty to secure Manchester City the Community Shield.

Akanji missed the penalty this summer when Switzerland lost on penalties to England in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.

However, the centre-back did his best to secure a 7-6 win for City against arch-rivals Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday, following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

“I let the others shoot first because if you miss a penalty you obviously don’t go into the next one with that much confidence. I told Ederson I would shoot it through the middle in training, so I did and it went in,” Akanji told ITV (via BBC Sport) after the match.

“It wasn’t easy. We played well, United got a bit better before it was 1-0. Then it was a great cross from Oscar (Bobb) and a header from Bernardo.”

Who is Manchester City’s best penalty taker?

Although Akanji scored the winning penalty, goalkeeper Ederson was undoubtedly City’s star player in the shootout.

The Brazil international took a while to get going but denied Jadon Sancho with United’s fourth effort.

Ederson’s best moment was yet to come, however, when he convincingly beat rival André Onana with City’s fifth penalty.

After the shoot-out, Ederson was the surprise choice for Man City’s best penalty taker ahead of Akanji, but given his ball skills, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

“Ederson is probably the best penalty taker in our team, Erling (Haaland) too. When Ederson takes the penalty, I know it’s a goal,” Akanji said.