Here is what we learned from Manchester United’s penalty shoot-out loss in the Community Shield season-opener against Manchester City.
Man United Struggle To Play Out From The Back
This match brought several positives for Man United and Erik Ten Hag, but one of them was not the issue of playing the ball from out of the back. That is something Ten Hag wants this Man United to do, but it remains a problem from the previous campaigns. Sure, United’s back four is expected to look a lot different to this one, once the Devils get all the signings they want, but the defence that faced City at Wembley struggled continuously to pass the ball from the back. None of it looked like ingrained mechanics, but more as improvisation, which is something City were looking to get the best out of, particularly when Martinez gave a couple of possessions away in United’s own third, one of which led to McAtee hitting the woodwork.
Ten Hag Knows How To Test Guardiola
But on the positive note, it looks like Erik Ten Hag has found his way how to test Pep Guardiola and his Man City side. Similarly to the FA Cup final, United were once again playing with a false nine, with Bruno Fernandes occupying that place, dropping deeper into midfield to create bigger numbers in that area. What that led to was once again United focusing on their wingers to hurt the opposition on the counter, and that create several good chances for the Devils, particularly in the second half. Combined with the refusal to not press high, United seem to create problems for Guardiola, who, it should be said, was without Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne to try and solve this conundrum.
Garnacho And Diallo Do Well On The Right
Amad Diallo started the match on the right wing and Alejandro Garnacho replaced him in the second half. Notably, both of them had their good moments in this match. After a frustrating campaign, this performance will be important for Amad, who had a couple of great breakthroughs on the counter. He was unselfish when he finished off a move by passing the ball to Mason Mount, but overall he looked great and these are further bad news for Antony’s chances of considerable playing time.
As for Garnacho, his cameo was a great one, producing a wonderful goal which gave United the lead after 82 minutes. The Argentine stroke the ball well into the bottom corner, past Ederson.
City Lucky To Lift The Trophy
That goal of Garnacho was not enough, as City equalised thanks to Bernardo Silva in the 89th minute, sending the match to the penalty shoot-out, where the champions were lucky to get the trophy. Andre Onana saved Bernardo’s shot, giving United an early lead they failed to keep safe, as Jadon Sancho had his shot saved later on. Goals from Casemiro, McTominay and Lisandro Martinez were putting United on the brink of victory, but City hung in there, before Jonny Evans’ shot went off target and Manuel Akanji clinched the victory for Manchester City.
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