Athens opened the international season with a final of the Super Cup that offered a clash of styles. Two football schools with opposite philosophies were measured. On the one hand, the hedonists of Manchester City, prioritizing the pleasure of possession and playful play to reach the supreme goal of victory. On the other, the stoic sevillistas, irreducible in the effort and intense until the final discouragement. And the party obeyed what was expected. Guardiola’s men proposed with the ball at their feet and Mendilibar’s men pressed looking for an English error to penalize. A final with a Sevilla with many headlines who are in the showcase and could be playing their last game like Bono, Acuña, and even En-Nesyri…
Hammer of En-Nesyri
With Gudelj patching up the defense axis, those from Nervión prioritized closing the corridors that ended in Haaland, in addition to making their few arrivals profitable. In one of them, in the 25th minute, they caught City off guard and Acuña had time to get a tense cross into the pot, where En-Nesyri took advantage of the tepid vigilance of Akel and Gvardiol to rise majestically and head the ball into the net. Major goal in an aristocratic setting.
Sevilla enjoyed entrenched, disrupting the English attacks and stampeding out when the occasion allowed. Rakitic and Jordan would impose themselves on Rodri and Kovacic in the spine, where a lead City would miss Gundogan, De Bruyne or Bernardo. In addition, Akanji is not Stones, that center-back who has mutated into a midfielder with Pep generating advantages at the start of the ball. Sevilla’s intensity prevailed over patience mancunian, unable to decipher the Seville spider web. Not one clear chance in the first 45 minutes did he give away the defensive solvency of those from Nervión, who only found the end of the first half long. Mendilibar’s men came ahead at half-time, after a sterile siege by Guardiola’s men and intelligent management by the Basque.
Upon returning from the break there were no notable changes, beyond some tactical clarification from Guardiola that did not come in return. Akanji returned to the axis of the defense and Gvardiol gained more weight in the middle with the ball at his feet. Sevilla was able to sentence in the 49th minute with a manual counter by Ocampos that only En-Nesyri wasted against Ederson. One of those opportunities that then stings at the end of the game. Mendilibar’s men had more spark at the start of the season and when they recovered the ball they caught the English in a bad light, creating danger for them. Those from Nervión had digested the restart better, stealing more balls and higher up. The best minutes of the sevillistas asked for a second goal before the final siege of City that was guessed. Oliver Torres looked behind Rodri’s back and always found the corridors behind the English sides where Lamela and Ocampos had spaces.
draw palmer
Centimeters were missing in minute 60 for En-Nesyri to clinch the second. The City footballers were a table football, without mobility or dynamism, which is what Guardiola asked of them from the band. Each recovery was a blow. It remained to be right because who forgives… And then the inexorable law of football was fulfilled. In a cross from Rodri past the far post, Palmer won Acuña’s back and headed in on goal. The youth squad player, who scored in the Charity Cup final a few days ago, repeated in another final. Sevilla’s house of cards collapsed, although seconds later Ocampos again left En-Nesyri against Ederson and the Brazilian won another one-on-one. The Moroccan had conceded two resounding goals and between the two sets City had plunged its dagger into Sevilla’s heart.
The goal revolutionized City, which gained dynamism, with more appearances from Grealish and Palmer on the flanks. Bono took a shot from the second that was on the way to the net and Mendilibar oxygenated his midfield by taking out Juanlu for Ólives Torres. The match seemed very long for a Seville that clung to its stoicism to withstand the English siege. City arrivals dripped with Bono equipped by his team. There were ten minutes left and many were already thinking about penalties, because this year it was decided to suppress the extra time in this new format. Sevilla overturned in a play in which Ocampos and En-Nesyri brushed the shot, but it could not be. Sevilla knew how to suffer, which never gives up. He insisted on City, who never give up. To penalties.
The fifth penalty went against the crossbar.
Manchester City is champion of the #SupercopaDeEuropa. pic.twitter.com/0sBsddHy8q— Soccer in Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) August 16, 2023
And in agony from eleven meters, fate wanted Bono, who was probably playing his last game with Sevilla because he will become a Saudi Al-Hilal player in the next few hours, to be the protagonist. But City did not miss any penalties, although the Sevilla goalkeeper brushed Walker’s last one, and Gudelj’s last shot hit the crossbar. City beat Sevilla. Luck, in this case, favored the hedonists over the stoics. Glory to the former and honor to the latter.
2023-08-16 18:31:04
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