City's No.1 goalkeeper came up trumps in the Community Shield shootout amid reports that he could be heading to Saudi Arabia.
Another one. Manchester City were nowhere near their brilliant best at Wembley for the annual curtain raiser but, even after falling behind to United with eight minutes remaining, they still managed to battle back and get their hands on the Community Shield.
A cagey first half saw Pep Guardiola's side strike the post as Oscar Bobb capitalised on a United mistake and played in James McAtee, the 21-year-old unfortunate that his bending effort didn't sneak in. Erik ten Hag's men had arguably the better chances of the opening period, though, wasting a couple of big chances to go in front.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first in that both sides struggled to properly get going, with Ederson caught out by a long-range stunner from Bruno Fernandes, only for the offside flag to keep his clean sheet intact.
Indeed, it was United who looked more of a threat in the second 45, with Alejandro Garnacho slotting home for what looked to be the winner. However, on came birthday boy Bernardo Silva to power a header into the net to make it 1-1 and force penalties. That saw Ederson step up, metaphorically and in literal terms, as he was one of City's seven successful takers, as well as expertly saving from a luckless Jadon Sancho, to ensure they won 7-6 on spot-kicks.
GOAL rates Man City's players from Wembley…
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Ederson (8/10):
Had nothing to do in the first half but will be disappointed to be beaten by Garnacho's low strike for the opener. Made a great save to keep out Sancho's spot-kick in the shootout and then took one himself and left Onana with no chance.
Rico Lewis (6/10):
Gave Rashford acres of space for one big chance in the first half but look threatening when driving forward. Unfortunately for him, those bursts didn't lead to anything meaningful.
Manuel Akanji (7/10):
A strange afternoon for Akanji and Dias in that they didn't have a No.9 to mark. Scored the winning penalty in the shootout to put his name up in lights.
Ruben Dias (6/10):
Heroically stuck his head in the way of a Fernandes rocket in the first half but was caught out a couple of times in the second period as the Portuguese drifted and pulled strings from the No.10 area. Slotted his penalty home in the shootout to help City win the trophy.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Had a tough afternoon against the threat of Amad and then Garnacho. Caught out of position as the Argentine found himself in space to score the opening goal.
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Nico O'Reilly (5/10):
Didn't quite work out for him on his senior debut. Some positive runs forward but ultimately couldn't put his stamp on the game. Will be more chances for him in the future, no doubt.
Mateo Kovacic (7/10):
Deployed in the Rodri role and although he may not be as effective as the Spanish juggernaut, he had a decent enough game and won possession more than anyone else on the pitch.
James McAtee (5/10):
Clipped the post in the first half but similar to O'Reilly, failed to really influence the game before he was replaced by Bernardo Silva.
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Jeremy Doku (5/10):
Hammered a shot just wide late on in the first half but that was about it. Showed flashes of his quality but, as we've seen so often with Doku, the end product was lacking.
Erling Haaland (4/10):
Anonymous. A big reason for that was the lack of service into him but he'll be disappointed that he couldn't have more of an impact on the game, with the City striker having just 17 (!) touches of the ball. Did at least convert his penalty to help his side get over the line.
Oscar Bobb (7/10):
Looked the most likely to make something happen in the first half and although he faded in the second, as United got more of a foothold, it was the Norwegian's delightful cross that led to Bernardo's equaliser.
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Matheus Nunes (5/10):
Replaced O'Reilly just after the hour mark and was booked almost immediately. Then lost possession up the pitch that led to Garnacho's opening goal. Bumped his ratings score up by despatching his penalty into the top corner.
Savinho (6/10):
Brought on after 63 minutes and showed a couple of glimpses of his quality but United were on the front foot a the time. Confidently slotted his penalty home.
Bernardo Silva (7/10):
Came on for the final 10 minutes and the birthday boy changed things in the final moments with a bullet header past Onana to send it to penalties. Will be annoyed he then missed his spot-kick in the shootout but it didn't matter in the end.
Kevin De Bruyne (N/A):
Introduced in stoppage time to take a penalty and made no mistake as he slotted into the corner.
Nathan Ake (N/A):
Replaced Gvardiol at left-back late on.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
It's difficult to grade Guardiola as the Community Shield clearly isn't at the top of his trophy priority list. With that in mind, he gave chances to a few youngsters and fringe players and ultimately will be happy to see his team show the character to come out on top after falling behind late on.