Manchester City 1-1 (5-4 on pens) Sevilla
I read one correspondent describe the UEFA Super Cup Final as a minor trophy.
What nonsense.
That was evident as the champions of Europe and the Europa League winners went head to head in Piraeus.
That they battled each other to a standstill, all the way to a penalty shoot-out, showed just how much both clubs wanted to win it.
The outcome: a City triumph in a dramatic penalty shoot-out sealed their fourth trophy of 2023 – in fact, a fourth trophy in less than four months for the best team in the world right now.
The reaction from coach Pep Guardiola and his players showed what it meant.
Likewise, so did the reaction at the end from their Sevilla counterparts, led by captain Ivan Rakitic.
To their credit, Sevilla were always big underdogs, including with the SBOTOP UEFA Super Cup Final betting odds.
They were beaten 4-0 and 3-1 by City in the Champions League last term and were even partially involved in a relegation battle in La Liga until the final two months of the season.
Yet they went stride for stride with their illustrious opponents until Nemanja Gudelj‘s spot-kick struck the crossbar and City emerged 5-4 victors after nine successful executed penalties.
In the process, City became the sixth different English team to win the European Super Cup, a record for one country.
Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest have all lifted this one before.
The shoot-out came after 90 minutes of keenly contested action (there was no extra-time) and a fair few UEFA Super Cup Final highlights.
The Spanish club may not be the force they once were but they showed something special to send Man Utd, Juventus and Roma packing en route to their seventh Europa League triumph last term.
They took the lead when a towering header from Yousef En-Nesyri put them ahead on 25 minutes.
Sevilla goalkeeper Bono and his Manchester City counterpart Ederson both excelled with fine saves before man-of-the-match, City youngster Cole Palmer, rose at the far post in the 63rd minute to level with a looping header from Rodri’s cross.
When it went to penalties, City were this time on the winning side, 10 days after they lost the English equivalent of this fixture – the Charity Shield – to Arsenal.
This was a very familiar feeling for both clubs – silverware saturation for City, a sixth European Super Cup Final defeat for Sevilla, all since 2007.
What have we learned from this?
That Sevilla can pose a threat to anyone on a one-off occasion if they manage to keep hold of their best players.
Meanwhile, City have a desire for silverware that remains undimmed even after they were just the second English club to win the ‘Treble’ last term.
There’ll be more to come from them and, if this was Aymeric Laporte’s send-off, then it was a deserved one for a player who has served City with distinction.
As Josko Gvardiol made his debut, perhaps it also signalled a passing of the guard.
Yes, the injury to Kevin De Bruyne overshadowed the opening day league win over Burnley and it has now been confirmed the Belgian will remain sidelined for several months. Guardiola has suggested it is a reoccurrence of the problem sustained during the Champions League final.
Some personnel may change but, right now, the club’s success shows no sign of abating.
That’s 10 wins out of 11 in this fixture for the Champions of Europe.
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