Manchester United were unable to repeat their FA Cup victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield but Erik ten Hag still came away with ‘many positives.’
The day couldn’t have gotten off to a better start with the news that Manchester United have agreed fees with Bayern Munich for the transfers of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
United were eventually able to keep those good feelings going against Manchester City with a promising performance in the Community Shield.
Though they struggled in the opening half an hour and were lucky not to fall behind, Erik ten Hag’s side fought their way back into the match and created good chances of their own.
Amad should have done better when clear through and Marcus Rashford’s shooting was wayward but United rattled their neighbours with some excellent passing moves.
They took a deserved lead late in the second half when substitute Alejandro Garnacho once again scored against the Blues, this time driving inside before finding the bottom corner.
United were unable to hold on, though, as Bernardo Silva nodded in a late leveller to send the game to penalties. Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans missed to see City win 7-6 in sudden death.
Despite the agonising defeat, Ten Hag saw multiple things from his team that impressed him.
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Ten Hag sees lots of ‘positives’ in Man City defeat
Speaking to ITV after the match, Ten Hag was asked what he liked most from his team’s display. He explained how United remained in the game even when City had all the ball and didn’t crumble under pressure.
He said: “That we managed it, to be on equal level with City. By getting higher on the pitch and defending, we did very well.”
United were mostly terrible at managing games last season and allowed many to descend into frantic affairs with transitions every second. This performance was much more controlled.
United also reduced City to just a single shot on target, their goal, showing how well they defended for the most part.
He continued: “We put pressure on the ball and also in possession we were in overloading situations in the midfield.
“We had some very good spells, very good play throughs and created chances from this. Many positive we can take.”
United did play some fantastic football in the final third, with several passages of quick interchanges leading to good chances. If they can keep it up against lesser teams, United should be much better this season.
Casemiro was one of the best performers vs Man City
Garnacho will get the headlines for his goal and fans have been left delighted with Amad’s performance but Casemiro’s display might be the most encouraging.
The Brazilian was terrible towards the end of last season and looked almost guaranteed to leave this summer but has remained and looked good against City.
He did give the ball away a couple of times when United were rocked early on but he grew into the game and had a real impact going forward. Casemiro was heavily involved in several of the nice moves and would have an assist to his name if Rashford had his shooting boots on.
It was only a glorified friendly against a midfield of youngsters but the signs are promising for Casemiro and it’s a performance to build on.
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