With their triumph over Sevilla on penalties in Athens, Manchester City added the UEFA Super Cup to their cabinet of trophies.
No one could reasonably argue that winning the UEFA Super Cup was at the top of City’s list of objectives, but Guardiola made it obvious that he was keen to hoist the trophy, as seen by his celebrations after the last whistle.
He made history by becoming the first coach to win the competition with three different teams following victories with Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past.
After years of Champions League failure, City finally ascended the mountain with their triumph against Inter Milan in June. They wanted to win this match to further cement their new position among Europe’s top.
The Community Shield was lost by Pep Guardiola’s Champions League squad in a shootout to Arsenal, but things turned around when Sevilla’s Nemanja Gudelj missed the crossbar after nine consecutive penalties.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s thunderous header gave the Europa League champions the lead after 25 minutes, but City had to rally to force penalties in a thrilling game.
Before being named man of the match, both Manchester City’s Ederson and Sevilla’s Bono made outstanding saves. In the 63rd minute, Cole Palmer leapt at the far post and headed Rodri’s cross with a looping motion to tie the score. It prepared the audience for the dramatic finish that added yet another trophy to Guardiola’s impressive holdings.
