Sancho decision comes back to haunt Ten Hag and Man Utd in Community Shield

Erik Ten Hag’s decision to let England international Jadon Sancho back into the team has backfired spectacularly after the winger missed a crucial penalty during the Manchester United’s Community Shield loss to rivals Manchester City.

After losing the last three editions, Manchester City finally ended their Community Shield drought by defeating Manchester United 7-6 in a thrilling penalty shootout, securing their seventh title and third under Pep Guardiola.

The match was intense, with City's young talents dominating early possession and Manchester United's defence facing heavy pressure early on.

As the game progressed, Manchester United grew into the match, and Bruno Fernandes thought he had opened the scoring, only to be denied by the offside flag. Alejandro Garnacho did eventually score the opener for Manchester United in the 82nd minute, but Bernardo Silva equalised with a header in the 89th minute to break the Red Devils’ hearts.

The match went to penalties, where despite Bernardo Silva’s miss, Manuel Akanji secured the win for the Cityzens after Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans missed from the spot for Manchester United.

Following the penalty shoutout, Sancho has come in for criticism from fans who now believe that the winger should not have been allowed back into the Manchester United squad, while others claim that missing in the shootout was his way of getting back at Ten Hag for dropping him from the squad last season.

Sancho was relegated from Manchester United’s first team last season after an infraction with Ten Hag, which saw him eventually leave the club on loan midway through the campaign to join Borussia Dortmund.

However, after returning from the loan spell, he was reintegrated by Ten Hag into the first team following crisis talks. A decision that did not bear fruit in the Community Shield penalty shootout.

The 24-year-old forward is no stranger to missing crucial penalties after also failing to convert from the spot during England’s EURO 2020 final loss to Italy.