Manchester City beat Sevilla 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Wednesday to claim the European Super Cup for the first time in their history.
The first nine penalties were converted, but Nemanja Gudelj hit the crossbar to give City victory.
Youssef En-Nesyri had opened the scoring for Europa League champions Sevilla when he headed high in the 25th minute, but City equalized with a try from 21-year-old striker Cole Palmer in the 18th minute.
It was a thrilling game played in scorching heat and humidity at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, as a stubborn Sevilla caused a lot of trouble for City’s defence, which was often exposed.
Sevilla made last season’s Champions League winners uneasy with high aggressive pressure and En-Nesyri squandered several chances before scoring after a counter-attack.
Erik Lamela squandered another fine Sevilla chance before Manchester City began to take control of the match, ending the half on a strong note when Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic failed to convert crosses from Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
Sevilla, however, started the second half strong and En-Nesyri missed a goal after a brilliant counter-attack led by Lucas Ocampos.
But Nathan Aké could have snatched victory from Champions League winners City in stoppage time when a close-range header was saved by goalkeeper Bono.
Manchester City lost 4-1 to Arsenal on penalties in the FA Super Cup ten days ago after drawing 1-1 in regular time.
“It’s always a tough match. The boys performed well. We needed to be more clinical but we got the job done,” City captain Kyle Walker told TNT Sports.
Source: Terra
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