Premier League champions Manchester Metropolis beat FA Cup winners Manchester United 7-6 on penalties to win the Group Protect at Wembley on Saturday after the normal season curtain-raiser completed 1-1.
Erik ten Hag’s facet regarded on target to repeat their shock victory over Metropolis within the FA Cup closing when Alejandro Garnacho put United forward after 82 minutes, however Metropolis midfielder Bernardo Silva netted a minute from time to ship the match to penalties.
Metropolis defender Manuel Akanji scored the decisive spot kick after Silva had earlier missed within the shootout. Jonny Evans and Jadon Sancho didn’t convert their penalties within the shootout.
United thought they’d taken the lead quickly after half-time when captain Bruno Fernandes beat goalkeeper Éderson with a shocking end from distance, however the effort was disallowed for offside.
Substitute Garnacho ran by the Metropolis defence to slip the ball into the underside nook of the online earlier than Silva transformed Oscar Bobb’s cross from shut vary to ship the sport to a shootout.
Metropolis gained the trophy for the primary time since 2019 to finish a run of defeats in Group Protect matches, following losses to Arsenal final season, Liverpool in 2022 and Leicester Metropolis in 2021.
“I loved the season towards our rival in Manchester, and to begin the season with a title is nice. We’re actually happy,” Metropolis supervisor Pep Guardiola informed ITV.
“We misplaced a whole lot of balls, after transitions they’re the most effective groups on this planet. They’re so harmful to manage. However ultimately, we did it.
“It’s good to play this recreation as a result of it means you gained one thing within the earlier season. … The goal now’s to not win the Premier League, it’s ‘OK, subsequent recreation, attempt to win it’. That is what we have now to do.”
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Metropolis’s England gamers Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones in addition to Spain midfielder Rodri have been unavailable for choice, main Guardiola to area an unfamiliar line-up with 4 academy gamers beginning.
Their younger facet dominated possession after a gradual begin, nonetheless, with United’s sloppy play handing the primary likelihood of the sport to teenager James McAtee, who struck the put up.
“Robust outcome to take. When the efficiency is true, once you lose, everybody feels this. It hurts in your abdomen. It’s important to really feel ache, and we have now to harm. We now have to take this perception into the league,” Ten Hag informed ITV.
“We managed to be on an equal degree with Man Metropolis. … We created probabilities, we acquired stress within the ball and in possession we had some excellent probabilities from this, so there are numerous positives we will take.”
Metropolis start their quest for a fifth consecutive Premier League title at Chelsea on Aug. 18, and United begin their marketing campaign at house to Fulham on Friday.
