MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - MANCHESTER CITY 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED (7-6 ON PENS.)

Image courtesy of tntsports.co.uk

Manchester City triumphed over their local rivals United with a victory on penalties to win the Community Shield for the first time since 2019.

Alejandro Garnacho seemed to have won it for the Reds when he struck in the 83rd minute, but substitute Bernardo Silva’s back post header from Oscar Bobb’s cross late on sent the game to spot kicks.

And after his miss against England in the European Championships quarter final, it was Manuel Akanji who scored the decisive penalty for City after Jonny Evans skied his spot kick for United.

Bernardo and Jadon Sancho missed earlier in the shootout for City and United respectively, with every other player, including Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland, new signing Savinho, Ederson, Matheus Nunes and Ruben Dias, dispatching their efforts.

This was City's third Community Shield victory under Pep Guardiola, and their first since 2019, where they beat Liverpool on penalties in a fixture in which the Blues have historically struggled in having lost the last three Community Shields.

City were by no means at their brilliant best against United, with many passes going astray in midfield and a lack of potency up front.

But this is a story we have seen many times before.

City lost the Community Shield in 2021 to Leicester, and in 2022 to Liverpool. They also lost on spot kicks to Arsenal last year, but each of those seasons, they were the Premier League champions come the end of the campaign.

When it comes to assessing the final result of the season, the Community Shield plays little relevance, as most of City’s focus is on their first Premier League match of the season against Chelsea.

The fact that City were able to compete against a more or less full strength Manchester United side without Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker or John Stones in the squad is a positive sign, but it isn't a reflection of the season in its entirety.

They weren’t at the top of their game by any means, and this must be improved on. But as more players come back and build up their minutes, I am sure we will see the pattern of the last few seasons repeat itself once again.

City have a week to rest and prepare before facing Chelsea next Sunday, with the majority of the squad, with perhaps the exception of Rodri, Stones, Foden and Walker, fit enough to start.

Here are the player ratings from the Community Shield victory:

Ederson - 7/10 - Not his most convincing performance in the match itself, but performed well in the shootout, saving Sancho's penalty and coolly slotting his spot kick home.

Lewis - 8/10 - If this was his debut, we'd have been mesmerised. Stunningly mature and technical at just 19 years of age, Lewis was born to play under Guardiola, and will play a very important role this season.

Akanji - 7/10 - Made amends for his miss in the Euros by winning the shootout for City after a solid 90 minutes.

Dias - 6.5/10 - Fairly unremarkable yet nonetheless good performance from Dias. Proved himself to be a decent penalty taker too with a composed effort.

Gvardiol - 6/10 - Looked all at sea for Garnacho's goal, and understandably didn't look as sharp as he did at the end of last season.

Kovacic - 8/10 - Once again proved that he can do a decent job playing as the sole defensive midfielder with a really good performance. Kovacic is now in line to start next week against former club Chelsea with Rodri probably not able to start.

O'Reilly - 6/10 - Looked a tad off the pace. This isn't an issue for him, however, as he wasn't out of his depth, and will continue to prosper and develop this season working with some of the best midfielders in the world and the best coach of all time.

McAtee - 6.5/10 - Decent on the ball, with a similar playing style to David Silva. Needs to tidy up on a few aspects of his game, but certainly a good squad player for this season.

Bobb - 8/10 - Electric in the first half, slightly quieter in the second, but ended up leaving his mark on the game with a brilliant drop of the shoulder and cross for Bernardo's equaliser.

Haaland - 6/10 - Looked a bit off the pace but stuck his penalty away well and caused an issue for United's centre forwards by simply being on the pitch.

Doku - 6.5/10 - Looked good in flashes, but was fairly wasteful with his end product and wasn't as involved as he usually tends to be.

Substitutes: Nunes - 6/10 - Gave the ball away in the build up for United's goal. Some flashes of brilliance, but ultimately we saw more moments where he didn't quite look up to scratch.

Savinho - 7.5/10 - A really encouraging debut for City's new number 26. Looks comfortable on either flank, with a burst of pace and a good first touch. Has some rough edges to tidy up on, but for the most part made a really positive impact off the bench.

Bernardo - 7.5/10 - In ten minutes on the pitch on his 30th birthday, Bernardo clattered Garnacho off the ball after his time wasting antics, got himself booked, scored a late equaliser, celebrated wildly, ran his socks off, missed a penalty and lifted a trophy. Impossible for true City fans to not love him, Bernardo is here to stay.

De Bruyne - Other than scoring his penalty in the shootout, not enough time to make an impact.

Ake - Not enough time to make an impact.