Man City 1 (City win 7-6 on penalties)
Man Utd 1
So, a new season kicked off with the usual Community Shield which saw United facing our noisy neighbours once again at Wembley. I must confess I had not seen any of the United pre-season friendlies and judging by the comments online on the pre season matches, I would have been justified for fearing the worst. Some people seem to struggle to understand the simple concept that every match has its own story and also that pre season does not really count – it is from now on that the real stuff that counts kicks off.
An evenly balanced first half where United started coming into the match late after a bold start by Citeh who were the best team in the first 30 minutes. Diallo seems lively and should play a part this season. Rashford should have given us the lead but he curled his shot wide.
United looked compact for most of the match and we did not concede the usual 20 shots on goal which happened regularly last season. Admittedly, Citeh played a number of youngsters and there wasn’t the usual flow in their game so the real test will start next weekend. Martinez as a left back is not a good idea in my opinion. Play the promising youngster, I say! Mainoo has proved that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough!
Late on Garnacho gave us what I thought was a deserved lead with a great individual goal. Once again we failed to hold on. Martinez got toasted on the right and the poor Pellistri playing at right back could not stop the irritating Bernardo Silva from heading the equaliser. Sancho missed after Onano had parried the first pen – and proceeded to made a clown of himself for the rest of them. The sudden death went our rivals’ way when Evans took a leaf from the football jargon manual and delivered what is commonly known as a defender’s penalty!
Overall, there were some encouraging signs. We conceded less opportunities than usual and looked slightly more dangerous going forward and if Rashford had put on his scoring boots he could have got a brace. The cleaners must have hidden those boots somewhere!
I have serious doubts about the keeper position that has not been addressed – I still need to be convinced that Onana is the right keeper for United. We definitely need a proper striker. Mount as a false 9 was a fail.
Next weekend the new season kicks off. The pressure will be on from day 1 as many believe that it was only the FA Cup win that saved ETH after a poor season last time round. I am expecting better football, more goals and less shots on target and that should be the minimum target…Numquam Moribimur.
