Despite defeat in the Community Shield to their cross-city rivals, Manchester United fans may have reason for encouragement after a positive display at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.
Victory over City in May's FA Cup final earned United the right to play in the Community Shield, with Pep Guardiola's Citizens out for an element of revenge to kick start their new season.
The opening stages were tense, with United caught on the ball in their own half on several occasions before gaining some degree of control over proceedings as the game went on.
Manchester United looked to be on their way to victory in the closing stages, as substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored the opener with little under ten minutes left to play.
Garnacho scored in May's FA Cup final through a burst of good fortune, but there was nothing fortuitous about his tidy finish after a lovely break inside in the closing stages of Saturday's game.
GARNACHO DELIVERS ⭐️@agarnacho7 with a delightful finish for @ManUtd 🔴#CommunityShield pic.twitter.com/zhwMbDlypS
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) August 10, 2024
United's lead was short-lived, however.
With under two minutes left to play, Bernardo Silva would level things up with a ruthless header, after Facundo Pellistri was caught sleeping at the back post.
BERNARDO SILVA 🤯@ManCity's man with a late leveller in the Manchester Derby!#CommunityShield pic.twitter.com/zLkRqfUeGN
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) August 10, 2024
A lengthy penalty shootout was needed to separate the sides, with both sides taking eight spot-kicks each.
Ultimately, misses from Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans would hand Manuel Akanji the chance to win the game for City - an opportunity the Swiss player duly took.
Even though the game ended in defeat, this was generally an encouraging display for Manchester United after a nightmare season last year.
However, there were glimmers of some issues which have persisted at Old Trafford in recent months, and Roy Keane said post-match that any hint of those must be stamped out if United are to thrive this season.
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Roy Keane says injuries will be crucial to Manchester United chances this season
Manager Erik ten Hag and his players must take much of the blame for Manchester United's troubles last season but it cannot be denied that the persistent injury crises at the club did not aid their attempts to turn things around.
After a disappointing penalty shootout defeat to bitter rivals City on Saturday, Roy Keane raised the performance of United's medical department as a crucial factor in how the team's season will progress.
With the likes of Luke Shaw, Rasmus Hojlund, and Leny Yoro already facing spells on the sidelines and the Premier League season not yet underway, Keane said that United would have to hope for a largely injury-free season if things are to improve.
United will be encouraged just by the fact that they have players getting minutes under their belt, Martinez, Maguire, a few of the young players. I'm sure if we speak to the manager, they'll look at the pluses of today and move on quickly.
If they get a couple of quality players in during the week...the key is, for the better players, keeping them fit.
You look at the players off the bench [today], the United squad is pretty strong really. The problem is that they seem to pick up a lot of injuries, a lot of serious injuries. They need to get on top of that.
I know there have been changes in the background with the medical team, etc. If they keep most of their players fit, I'd be pretty upbeat for the start of the season.
Manchester United do certainly seem to have a more injury-prone squad than many of their rivals. They will certainly hope to have the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw available for more of this season than they were last year.
Roy Keane would also highlight the lateness of Manchester City's equaliser as a recurring trend from last season threatening to pop up once again for ten Hag's side.
With the goal they gave away, I still think the manager might be going, 'I wanted us to show a little bit of steel and see the game out.'
Just not strong enough today.
It is hard to get a read of where Manchester United fit into the Premier League puzzle this season. Time will tell whether the performances are more akin to Erik ten Hag's first season in charge or the nightmare they endured last year.
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