Chastened by a decisive penalty miss at the recent European Championship, Manuel Akanji was happy to be placed near the end of Manchester City’s list of spot-kick takers during a shootout against Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday.
Imagine how the Switzerland defender felt, then, when the opportunity fell to him to score the winning penalty at Wembley Stadium.
“I let the others shoot first,” Akanji said, “because obviously when you miss a penalty, you don’t go into the next one with that much confidence.”
This time he made no mistake.
After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, City beat United 7-6 in a shootout to win the traditional curtain-raiser to the English soccer season between the winners of last season’s Premier League (City) and FA Cup (United).
City’s players rushed from the center circle to celebrate with Akanji after he lifted the clinching penalty straight down the middle and into the roof of the net.
In the Euro 2024 quarterfinals last month, Akanji was left with “deep emptiness, deep sadness” — in the words of Switzerland coach Murat Yakin — when he was the only player to not convert a penalty in a shootout loss to England. On that occasion, Akanji took Switzerland’s first attempt.
“He missed it in the Euros,” City manager Pep Guardiola said, “and I love he had the personality to take it.”
City ended a run of three straight losses in the Community Shield — to Leicester, Liverpool then Arsenal over the past three years — and went some way to avenging the loss to United in the FA Cup final 77 days ago. Guardiola’s team was beaten 2-1 to miss out on another league-and-cup double.
It looked like United would be claiming another Wembley win over its neighbor when second-half substitute Alejandro Garnacho cut inside and drove a low shot inside the near post in the 82nd minute.
City equalized in the 89th when Bernardo Silva, also a substitute, headed in from Oscar Bobb’s cross.
The game went straight to penalties — there is no extra time in the Community Shield — and Silva saw his shot saved by Andre Onana off City’s first attempt.
Jadon Sancho failed off United’s fourth kick as Ederson tipped the shot onto the post. It was more penalty heartache for Sancho, who was one of three England players to miss in the shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
United defender Jonny Evans, the team’s eighth penalty-taker, chipped his effort over the crossbar to give Akanji the chance to win it for City.
Against England in Dusseldorf, the center back placed his kick to his right and had it saved by Jordan Pickford, but this time he hit it down the middle.
While United fielded a close-to-full-strength team, City was still without a raft of key players following the Euro 2024 final between Spain and England. Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones were all missing, while Kevin De Bruyne started on the bench and was a late substitute.
“We’re happy to start the season in the way we have and obviously there’s a lot to come,” said Ruben Dias, who was City’s captain for the match. “It’s another trophy and we’re always happy to collect trophies. We’ve just had a long season and we still don’t have a full squad back but it is very good for us to start this way.”
Guardiola has now won 18 trophies — including the Community Shield three times — since joining City in 2016.
The Premier League season starts Friday, when United hosts Fulham.
“It hurts in your stomach — you have to feel pain and we have to hurt,” United manager Erik ten Hag said. “We have to take this belief in to the league.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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