Erik ten Hag’s response to Jadon Sancho’s penalty miss for Manchester United in the Community Shield says it all.
United fell 7-6 to City in the penalty shootout after Sancho and Jonny Evans missed their penalties.
During regular play, Alejandro Garnacho gave United the lead at Wembley in the 82nd minute, but Bernardo Silva levelled the score seven minutes later with one of only three shots on target throughout the match.
Although the match itself wasn’t a classic way to start the season, the penalty shootout did provide an extra dose of drama.
Although Evans’ penalty was comfortably sent over the bar, Sancho was thwarted only by a superb save from Ederson, who deflected his spot kick onto the post.
Sancho was playing his first competitive match for United in almost a year, having been excluded from the first team after a public disagreement with Ten Hag last September.
He didn’t train with the first team for several months before being loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January.
Now back at Old Trafford, Sancho and Ten Hag have settled their issues, and the 24-year-old has rejoined the first team.
In his post-match interview, the Dutch manager seemed eager to move past the missed penalty by supporting his player’s penalty-taking skills.
He told ITV Sport: “Yes, he’s an excellent penalty taker, and today he missed. This is part of the game.”
Attention will now turn to United’s first Premier League match of the season, set for Friday.
Fulham will be the first team to visit Old Trafford this season, and Ten Hag might be able to include two new signings in his squad for that match.
According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, United have reached an agreement to sign defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich for a total of €60 million plus add-ons. Meanwhile, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is nearing a transfer to West Ham for £15 million.
