On August 10, Man City overcame its neighbour Manchester United in both normal time and a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield, also known as the Community Shield, for the sixth time in history.
Manchester City wins the English Community Shield for the first time after four successive seasons.
Alejandro Garnacho opened the scoring for the “Red Devils” in the 82nd minute, but Bernardo Silva equalised for the “Blues” seven minutes later, sending the game to a penalty shootout. Bernardo Silva missed the first kick for Manchester City, but after eight tries by both sides, Manchester United missed two more shots, one each by Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans.
Manchester United played admirably, but Manchester City was too lucky.
Manchester City prevailed 7-6 in a nail-biting penalty shootout, capturing the silver cup for the first time following four successive Community Shield appearances since the 2021-2022 season.
The most prominent of these “unstable” achievements is Erling Haaland’s poor performance, despite being the most expected striker in “The Citizens” squad for the preceding half-decade.
Haaland couldn’t compete against 36-year-old “veteran” Jonny Evans.
Statistics show that Haaland did not score, assist, or have a single shot against Manchester United.
The Norwegian striker appeared in the full Super Cup encounter, but only touched the ball 17 times, passed 57% accurately (8/14 passes), dropped the ball 8 times, and lost all three duels.
Overall, since joining Manchester City, the Norwegian striker has failed to score in three successive Community Shield appearances, earning Wembley Stadium the nickname “Haaland’s obsession” among fans.
Haaland was likewise unable to defeat custodian Andre Onana in this instance.
He made his Manchester City debut at the 2022 Community Shield. However, the Norwegian player’s sole mark was sloppy handling and a succession of missed efforts, one of which struck the crossbar from 5 metres away.
Haaland remained “goalless” in the Community Shield encounter against Arsenal in 2023, this time against Manchester United. Not scoring once is unlucky, but the second and third times playing with the same “script” are beyond words to explain Haaland’s peculiar lack of luck.
In addition to the three Community Shield matches, Haaland was dissatisfied in the other four Man City finals in the previous two years. These include the 2023 FA Cup final against Manchester United, the 2022-2023 Champions League final against Inter Milan, the 2023 European Super Cup match against Sevilla, and the 2023-2024 FA Cup final versus Man United!
Man City scored eight goals in these seven finals, but Haaland, “a player not for big matches,” did not contribute, according to statistics specialist Statman Dave.
Coach Pep Guardiola most likely still has a lot to teach Haaland about scoring goals.
Erling Haaland is a good goal scorer, as proven by the fact that supporters eagerly await his appearances.
The young Norwegian sensation has consistently shattered Premier League scoring records, yet Haaland’s character and class appear to “disappear” in key games for Manchester City.