Manchester City were crowned champions of the Charity Cup for the seventh time in their history, at the expense of their neighbor Manchester United, after defeating them on penalties 7-6, after the regular time ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
The goals of the 102nd edition of the tournament, which brings together the league and cup champions, were scored by substitutes Argentine Alejandro Garnacho for United (82) and Portuguese Bernardo Silva for City (89).
Jadon Sancho and Northern Irishman Jonny Evans missed their fourth and eighth penalties respectively, with Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson saving the former’s kick with the help of the crossbar, while the latter’s kick went over the goal, before Swiss Manuel Akanji converted his decisive kick into a goal, giving his team a title that has been absent from its coffers since 2019 when it defeated Liverpool in the same manner.
Pep Guardiola’s team took revenge with this win on their city rivals who denied them the FA Cup title last season, when they beat them 2-1 at the same stadium with goals from Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo for United, while Belgian Jeremy Doku scored for City.
The match, in which both sides exchanged the advantage throughout the two halves, witnessed few chances, the most prominent of which was a shot that was blocked by the crossbar by City’s young midfielder James McAtee in the 24th minute, before Ederson’s right post blocked a shot by Marcus Rashford, who received a perfect cross from Portuguese Bruno Fernandes in the 75th minute.
The match was on fire in the last ten minutes, as Garnacho opened the scoring eight minutes before the end of regular time, shooting a low ball with his left foot to Ederson’s left.
Silva responded with a header from close range, taking advantage of a perfect cross from Rico Lewis from the right a minute before the end.
Manchester United will open the new season in the English Premier League on the 16th of this month by hosting Fulham, while Manchester City, who are aspiring to a fifth consecutive title, will visit Chelsea on the 18th of this month.
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