LONDON: Sergio Aguero spoiled Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri’s first taste of English football as the Argentine’s double gave Manchester City a stylish 2-0 victory in the Community Shield on Sunday.
Blues boss Sarri, hired to replace the sacked Antonio Conte last month, endured a miserable debut in the prestigious friendly at Wembley as lacklustre Chelsea were swept aside by Premier League champions City.
Picking up where they left off in their record-breaking campaign last term, Pep Guardiola’s team took an early lead through Aguero, who rewarded City’s dominance with a second goal after the break.
The last side to win the Community Shield and then go on to clinch the Premier League title were Manchester United in 2010-11.
On this evidence, City could follow in their arch rivals’ footsteps at the end of the season.
“It’s not easy to play after such a short time. It’s complicated for all of them but they are so competitive. My hat’s off to them,” Guardiola said of his team’s quick recovery after the World Cup.
“We couldn’t press enough because the players were absolutely exhausted. But in general we made a good performance. I didn’t expect that level of performance.”
While the Community Shield serves as the curtain raiser to the new season, City and FA Cup holders Chelsea have very different ambitions for the Premier League campaign, which kicks off on Friday.
City are favorites to defend the title and among the top Champions League contenders after becoming the first English top-flight team to secure 100 points last season.
In contrast, Chelsea are starting from scratch after chain-smoking former banker Sarri was hired from Napoli as an antidote to his antagonistic predecessor Conte.
But healing the wounds of Conte’s fractious two-year reign won’t be easy for Sarri, as this spluttering performance underlined.
Sarri and Guardiola are close friends and dined together on the eve of the Community Shield, yet this first experience of Chelsea’s reduced status left a nasty taste for the Italian.
“Today we were not in control of the match. We have a long way to go. We have to work. It’s not easy,” Sarri said.
Consigning Conte’s favored 3-4-2-1 formation to the bin, Sarri sent Chelsea out in a 4-3-3 system that malfunctioned from start to finish.
Sarri has brought Italy midfielder Jorginho with him from Napoli to serve as the pivot for his manager’s attacking gameplan.
But Jorginho made an underwhelming start, repeatedly giving the ball away in dangerous areas.
Phil Foden drove at the heart of the Chelsea defense to set up City’s 13th-minute opener with little resistance from Jorginho or anyone else.
Foden’s incisive run ended with a simple pass to the unmarked Aguero, who applied the finishing touch with a fine low strike from the edge of the area.
It was Aguero’s 200th City goal — making the Argentina striker the first player to reach that milestone for the Eastlands outfit.
Foden’s contribution was the highlight of an assured display from the 18-year-old midfielder that belied his tender age and showed why he is hailed by City staff as the ‘Stockport Iniesta’.
In the absence of Eden Hazard, still resting after the World Cup, Chelsea unveiled a precocious talent on their own in Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The 17-year-old winger gave a glimpse of his blistering pace and nimble footwork when he cut in from the left flank to bring City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo into action with a stinging drive.
Hudson-Odoi was a rare bright spot for Chelsea, with subdued Spain striker Alvaro Morata offering little evidence he can make amends for last season’s flop.
Inspired by Aguero, City could have won by five but they settled for one more in the 58th minute.
Aguero made a clever run to meet Bernardo Silva’s pass with a clinical finish that flashed past Willy Caballero as the champions showed Sarri the size of the task ahead of him.
Man City back in the groove as Aguero ruins Sarri’s Chelsea bow
Man City back in the groove as Aguero ruins Sarri’s Chelsea bow
- Blues boss Sarri, hired to replace sacked Antonio Conte, endures miserable debut in prestigious friendly
- City are favorites to defend the title and are among the top Champions League contenders
Late winner seals victory for Al-Ettifaq on SPL return
- After month-long hiatus, the Saudi Pro League returned to action on Matchday 11 with Al-Ettifaq and NEOM both securing victories
RIYADH: Thursday marked the long-awaited return of the Saudi Pro League after a 23-day break due to the national team’s participation at the 2025 Arab Cup.
What appeared to be a night short on goals — following a goalless draw between Al-Fayha and Al-Hazem earlier in the day — dramatically shifted after four goals were scored after the 89th minute across the fixtures.
Al-Ettifaq — city rivals of Brendan Rodgers’ new side, Al-Qadsiah — faced Al-Riyadh, looking to strengthen their position in the upper mid-table, and ultimately emerged from the capital with a 2-0 win.
However, the contest proved far from straightforward against the relegation battlers, with Moussa Dembele unable to rediscover his scoring touch despite netting a brace in his last outing.
Al-Ettifaq, enjoying the majority of possession, struggled to find their way past Al-Riyadh goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who produced six saves to keep his side in the contest. Al-Riyadh were pushed deep for much of the second half, largely due to being reduced to 10 men following Mohammed Al-Khaibari’s dismissal after a professional foul.
The visitors’ persistence finally paid off in injury time, as goals from Francisco Calvo and Georginio Wijnaldum secured a dramatic victory to give Al-Ettifaq the valuable three points, lifting them to seventh place on 15 points, after 10 matches.
Sitting just ahead of them in sixth are NEOM, who remain two points clear after surviving a late scare against Al-Najma to claim a 2-1 home victory.
In the battle between two newly-promoted teams — one in the top 6, and the other at the rear end of the table — NEOM appeared to be cruising after centre-back Nathan Zeze scored his first goal for the club in the 54th minute, before Khalifah Al-Dawsari doubled the lead in the 89th minute.
The match took an intense turn when Al-Najma were awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, converted by Bilal Boutobba.
As Saudi National Team ex-captain Salman Al-Faraj made his return to the pitch for the first time in 400 days, Al-Najma managed to push forward once more and grab a late goal, believing they had claimed a dramatic equalizer — only for Faisal Al-Mutairi’s effort to be ruled out for offside. The result condemned Al-Najma to their ninth defeat of the season.
Action continues on Friday with three more fixtures: Al-Fateh host Al-Ahli in the Eastern Province at 4:05pm KSA, Al-Kholood face Al-Taawoun at 6:00pm, and Al Hilal welcome Al-Khaleej in Riyadh at 8:30pm.
