Manchester City Wins the UEFA Super Cup, Beats Sevilla 5-4 on Penalties

Manchester City won its fourth trophy in the year 2023 after beating Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup match. The reigning European champs have to go through penalties to lift the title at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens. Previously, we saw these two units playing 1-1 in the regulations.

The moment which decided the contest in Greece was in the fifth penalty series, when Nemanja Gudelj hit the crossbar, being the only player to miss his shot. It is a tragic ending of the night for the Serbian defender, who was excellent during the regular 90 minutes, neutralizing Erling Haaland, and playing one solid event.

Sevilla was a better team for one hour, but the Citizens pumped up the tempo until the end, squeezing the UEFA Europa League winners end eventually finding a crack in their defense. But let’s start from the beginning.

MANCHESTER CITY ARE SUPER CUP CHAMPIONS 🏆 pic.twitter.com/6Z2ssDtipJ

— GOAL (@goal) August 16, 2023

Youssef En-Nesyri brought the lead to the hosts in the 26th minute after a fantastic header, jumping in between Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake. En-Nesyri had a chance to solve the game early in the second half, but he missed two excellent opportunities which came out of Sevilla’s counter-attacks.

City’s championship gene emerged in the second half. The team didn’t have de Bruyne, who will be out of the picture for the next four months, nor Ilkay Gundogan, who left for Barca. And even without two of their most impactful midfielders, they managed to beat the seven-time Europa League champs.

Cole Palmer leveled the result in the 61st minute, using his chance to play a big match perfectly. City’s youngster replaced Bernardo Silva on the right side, showing his talent, and indicating that he might be of great use in the upcoming year. He was the youngest on the pitch tonight but showed incredible composure.

After his goal, City was even more aggressive, yet Rojoblancos managed to resist the pressure, forcing penalties. Unfortunately, the team from Pizjuan lost for the sixth straight UEFA Super Cup game.

Pep Guardiola was thrilled with the way his unit played.

“In the past, I’ve sometimes had a feeling about lack of motivation when the squad wins trophies a lot. But today, I didn’t have that feeling. We are really pleased to have a trophy already,” Pep Guardiola stated after the game.

This was the fourth Super Cup trophy for the Spanish manager, who set a new record. Guardiola matched Ancelotti’s four titles, but he had it with three teams, which has never been done before. He won it with Barcelona twice, Bayern Munich, and now with City.

The moment Nemanja Gudelj missed from 12-yards as Man City won the #SuperCup! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/XvPlbEjD9Z

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 16, 2023

Guardiola and Ancelotti have one more trophy while playing and are the best when counting all the pieces of silverware.

He has plenty of problems ahead of this season, with de Bruyne reinjuring himself, and having to cover up Ilkay Gundogan’s departure. Midfield has been City’s biggest strength in the past, and these two blows might change that.

Jose Luis Mendilibar and the Rojoblancos haven’t got time to lament too much, because they need to prepare for the upcoming year and all the challenges coming up. As the UEFA Europa League winners, this team has earned a ticket to the Champions League.

This was probably the last UEFA Super Cup in this format. There are speculations that the European House of football intends to make it a four-team cup the following season, but there isn’t any information on the precise format.