Manchester City made its debut in the UEFA Super Cup by beating Sevilla 5-4 in a penalty shootout to add yet another piece of silverware into their vast array of championships under manager Pep Guardiola.
The match ended as a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation before each of the first nine kicks of the shootout were converted by both teams. It was then that Serbian defender Nemanja Gudelj struck his penalty against the crossbar to hand victory to City. The win came just 10 days after a heartbreaking loss on penalties to Arsenal in England’s Community Shield.
This was the 15th trophy won by Manchester City in Guardiola’s reign that started back in 2016. Guardiola is now the second manager, after Carlo Ancelotti, to have won the Super Cup on four separate occasions and the first ever to win it with three different teams, after doing so with Bayern Munich (2013) and Barcelona (2009, 2011).
Despite the win, the upcoming EPL season looks like it could be tougher for the reigning champs. The offseason departures of Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez and injury to Kevin De Bruyne which could see their ace sidelined for up to four months, will likely require the team to find more creative ways to score. 21-year old winger Cole Palmer could have a big part to play in the team’s success this year.
Man City vs Sevilla – Game Summary
The match was played in the scorching heat and humidity of the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece. While Man City dominated time of possession for most of the game, Sevilla did have a number of chances and were the first to draw blood in the first half.
The opening goal was scored by Youssef En-Nesyri who was able to reach the back of the net with a towering header in the 25th minute. Sevilla squandered a number of chances against last season’s Champions League winners before this but were very effective in using aggressive high pressing and counter-attacks against City’s defense.
It wasn’t until the 63rd minute that City was able to equalize via a header by winger Cole Palmer. From there the match was pretty much all Man City, keeping star striker Erling Haaland on the field for the whole game even with the big Premier League clash against Newcastle coming up on Saturday.
Nathan Ake had a great opportunity to win it for City in added time but his stooping header from a few yards out was brilliantly saved by Bounou. Sevilla got a couple more shots on goal finishing with 8 of which 4 were on target. Man City on the other hand had 23 shots on goal and 7 on target.
In the ensuing penalty shootout Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Mateo Kovacic, Grealish and Walker converted City’s penalties, while Lucas Ocampos, Rafa Mir, Ivan Rakitic and Gonzalo Montiel netted for Sevilla. Nemanja Gudelj ultimately struck iron on the 10th penalty to give City the win.
What’s Next For Man City?
Next up for Man City is a big game against table topping Newcastle this Sunday, the 20th of August. This will be City’s first game at the Etihad Stadium this season where they are aiming to stretch their Premier League winning streak at home to 11 matches, after beating all opposing teams in 2023.
In the head-to-head, Guardiola’s side was able to beat Newcastle comfortably 2-0 at the Etihad in March and tied with them 3-3 back in August of 22’. It hasn’t been since January of 2019 that the Magpies have been able to top City via a 2-1 win which saw Matt Ritchie score a game-winning penalty.
Likely Man City Lineup
- GK: Ederson
- RB: Rico Lewis
- CB: Ruben Dias
- CB: John Stones
- LB: Nathan Ake
- CM: Rodri
- CM: Mateo Kovacic
- RM: Phil Foden
- AM: Julian Alvarez
- LM: Bernardo Silva
- ST: Erling Haaland
Mateo Kovacic is expected to start in place of injured Kevin De Bruyne. There is a small chance Haaland will sit out if his fitness is not up to scratch before the match.
