Manchester City devour another trophy but there is no sign of United’s doughnut | Jonathan Wilson
Community Shield told us little about the champions but Erik ten Hag may have solved his side’s midfield problem
Unfurl the bunting! Prepare the open-topped bus! Paint the city blue! Or perhaps not. This time it was City who won the second Manchester derby at Wembley inside 80 days and, while the Community Shield hardly competes with May’s FA Cup final, it does means that a potential quintuple is on. For a team as successful as Manchester City, every new goal is worth highlighting.
City didn’t seem overjoyed at the final whistle, United didn’t seem devastated. Why would they? Having lost in each of the last three Community Shields, City more than anybody know how little bearing the curtain-raiser has on the show to come. Only one of the past 13 Community Shield winners have gone on to win the title; were City to do so this season they would become only the ninth side to claim both the Community Shield and Premier League in the same season. “It is what it is,” as a resolutely sober Rúben Dias sagely confirmed. “Another trophy.”
