City beat United to lift Community Shield in Manchester derby

Manchester City beat Manchester United 7-6 in a penalty shootout to lift the FA Community Shield on Saturday afternoon at Wembley Stadium.

Considered the curtain-raiser for the new English Premier League season, the match pits the current EPL champions against the FA Cup holders.

United seemed on course to lift the trophy when Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to give his side the lead in the 82nd minute, only for fellow substitute Bernardo Silva to equalise for the Citizens in the final minute.

With no extra time to be played, the match proceeded to post-match penalties, where United capitalised on Bernardo Silva’s miss to take an early lead in the shootout.

However, the tables turned when Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans failed to score from 12 yards.

With City in the driving seat, Manuel Akanji converted cleanly to hand his side the victory.

Despite lifting the Premier League trophy four consecutive times, this was Manchester City’s only Community Shield triumph in their last four attempts, having previously lost to Leicester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal.

With their first piece of silverware secured, City have the monumental task of defending their Premier League crown for a fifth successive time.

Online bookmakers have Manchester City listed as +160 outright favourites to retain their Premier League crown, ahead of Arsenal (+190) and Liverpool (+700) in the 2024/25 season.

Worth noting is that in the last five years, the team that has lifted the Community Shield has failed to win the Premier League title. Will Manchester City break the curse?

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