While a Blues team performing clearly well below their best took to the pitch, Pep Guardiola warned about the consequences of extending football matches after Manchester City conceded an equaliser in the 101st minute against Arsenal.
Eight minutes were subsequently added on in the second half at Wembley as new refereeing directives to drive out time wasting in the game came into play and a Leandro Trossard’s drive was deflected in long after matches are usually finished.
Guardiola had voiced pre-game his opinion that adding extra time was not the solution it was being hailed to be, and was even caught on camera speaking animatedly to the official when eight extra minutes of added time was announced on Sunday. He stated afterwards that too much time had been added on in a change that players and coaches had not agreed on and even joked that everyone would be playing overnight in high-scoring matches.
Despite being the only team to qualify for the Community Shield, City somehow awkwardly ended up losing it, with their hopes of a Septuple shattered as Arsenal scored an equaliser in the 101st minute of the game before going on to win the penalty shootout. It was clearly a City team well below their magical best, particularly in the first half struggling for scoring opportunities despite being dominant in possession although the introduction of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden in the second half added some much-needed vigor to the team. This led to Cole Palmer slotting in a majestic curving shot with his left foot but the win for City was not to be as extra time saw Trossard’s misaligned kick deflected in by a hapless Mabuel Akanji.
Needless to say – despite the Community Shield’s long-standing dubious stature in top-flight football – one clearly cannot rule out the irresistible temptation for anxious, football-starved audiences to overreact and read too much into the imminent return of top-flight football pre-empted by a fixture like the Community Shield, which immediately brings to remembrance all those scathing hot comments about Norwegian sensation Erling Haaland and the clearly un-called for put-downs directed at him after his miss against Liverpool in last season’s Community Shield fixture.
Not known to be a sourpuss even after losing key matches, Guardiola himself had shown uncertainty regarding the fixture, having stated before he would stay on holiday if it doesn’t count as a trophy. Somehow the Blues had always erratically gone into their Community Shield matches against Arsenal well below their best, yet this has not in any way negatively impacted the Spaniard and his team consistently garnering five Premier League laurels since he took over at the helm, with three consecutive wins and the Holy Grail treble last season.
Kudos to the Gunners for having displayed spunk and sheer grit to eke out a win but it would definitely be putting the proverbial cart before the horse to attempt reading the tea leaves so prematurely at this early juncture.
Recent history has shown that when Guardiola and his boys finally get their mojo going, all bets are off.