Manchester City convincingly beat Chelsea 2-0 in this year’s Community Shield. However there may have been a few things which you missed from the match. This is what we discovered.
1. Sergio Aguero hits the corner flag
Aguero is well known for his quality finishing – scoring his 200th goal for Manchester City in today’s game. Despite this, the striker had a moment to forget in the first half when his wayward effort hit the corner flag.
200 – Sergio Aguero has become the first ever player to score 200 goals for @ManCity. Historic. pic.twitter.com/PcMntCXg5Q
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 5, 2018
2. David Luiz plays his first competitive game in 181 days
Today’s game was Luiz’ first appearance since Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat by Watford on February 5, 181 days ago. Luiz fell down the pecking order with former boss Antonio Conte.
3. De Bruyne and Emery watch on
Unai Emery, whose side face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on August 18 was a keen spectator. De Brunye is also recovering from the World Cup and was deemed too fatigued to play today. And as weird as it looks, his place in the team might be under threat especially after the impressive display of Phil Foden.
The English teenager provided the assist for Aguero’s first goal and was a thorn in the flesh for Chelsea new boy Jorginho. He made Jorginho look like a novice. Jorginho was supposed to join Man City before switching to London after being convinced by Sarri to do but this might be a blessing in disguise for Manchester City as it means Foden will be afforded some minutes in the first team.
But this could change if City sign another midfielder before Friday, which is the deadline for the EPL transfer window. They have been so far frustrated in the market having lost their primary targets Fred and Jorginho to Man United and Chelsea respectively. Guardialo has kept his cards close to his chest on the player the club could be chasing.
4. City buck FA Cup winners trend
Here’s a fun stat. Prior to today, the last four editions of the Community Shield had been won by the reigning FA Cup champions, with Manchester United (in 2013) previously the most recent league-winning side to win the traditional curtain-raiser.
5. Bravo almost makes a costly mistake
The Chilean goalkeeper looked shakey throughout and very error-prone. Just prior to half-time, Bravo needlessly came off his line and almost got caught out by Marcos Alonso’s lofted through ball. Bravo, who at 6 ft 0 in isn’t the largest, misjudged the bounce as the ball sailed over his head. Luckily, it did not result in a goal.
6. Gundogan makes return to action wearing a mask
No, he wasn’t impersonating Zorro. Gundogan underwent an operation to fix a deviated septum following Germany’s exit from the World Cup.
7. Claudio Gomes makes his senior debut
Gomes was brought on for the last few seconds as he made his first competitive appearance in senior football – he recently joined the club from PSG.