The only thing that Spurs have been able to do better than us in the past couple of years is get wins against Manchester City in the league. For as long as Pep has been manager of Man City, they've walloped Arsenal in the league but have never actually gotten one over us at Wembley.
Team news
Fortunately for us, Trossard came off the bench and combined excellently with Smith Rowe to give us the equaliser. It did come from some good fortune but it was what we deserved after a hard fought battle.
The Team
The lineup was actually very interesting to note. We started with Partey and Rice, a system that I suspect we'll regularly use in these sort of fixtures.
Against smaller teams like Spurs, we'd probably feature one lone 6 that will be either Partey, Jorginho or Rice. @blanchy will get to witness greatness in London for the first time in his life as a Spurs fan.
Timber fielded as a proper inverted left back and looked so good in the position. It's going to be difficult for Zinchenko to get back into the squad.
The other defensive spots were completed by the usual Ben White, Saliba and Gabriel.
Odegard held down the right if central midfield while Rice was on the left. The British record signing was a bit more advanced but we got to see his defensive side as well.
Havertz featured as a false 9 and was flanked either side by Saka on the right and Martinelli on the left.
It was technically a 4-1-2-2-1 formation but let's say it was a 4-3-3 for simplicity sake.
Wembley is our second home
Our love story in Wembley was once again stretched further as we squeezed out a gritty penalty shootout victory against the imperious Citizens. Unlike Spurs though, we actually won a trophy with this victory and while many will like to play it down, the community shield counts as a trophy.
To qualify you need to either win the EPL or FA Cup. However, if one team wins both, then the team that finishes 2nd in the previous season qualifies for the final. You simply have to ensure that you're not Spurs.
This also proves just proves how useless the trophy that @deniskj's Manchester United won last season. So I'd prefer not to hear anything about their crappy shyte trophy.
A fair game
For the most part, it was a pretty even game with Man City starting brighter. Fortunately for us, they didn't carve out any serious opportunities.
On the balance of play, I think we should have gotten the lead but Havertz could quite get it in. However, we really looked good on and off the ball as we stifled the recent champions to only one shot from the halfway line.
The second half was yet another tactical affair and brighter team looked like breaking the deadlock. However, the introduction of KDB turned the game on it's head as his presence and exquisite ball striking abilities came to the fore.
A combination of some shoddy defending and good fortune, the ball landed at KDB's foot and he found Cole Palmer in a lot of space. The England Under 21 star curled in a sweet strike from the right hand side to give his team the lead.
The goal came so late in the game that City's Instagram account even assumed they had won the match before the final whistle.
Talking Tactics
The match was such a brilliant tactical specimen to behold. There were so many intricate details about defending and attacking that could easily be lost in the wind.
For example, our shape didn't allow John Stones to pick spaces in midfield because Havertz pressing was phenomenal. Haaland didn't have any space because Gabriel and Saliba took turns to keep in check.
Declan Rice didn't have to be anything but a footballer. No need for anything special, just easy pass and move.
Jurrien Timber took up spaces in the right side of attack and his implementation of the Zinchenko role was exquisite. Unlike the Ukrainian though, Timber is no slouch in defence.
When we went a goal down, Eddie Nketiah came on and Havertz moved to midfield. Trossard had freedom to roam the pitch after replacing Martinelli while ESR looked like a man on a mission on the left flank.
The removal of Gabriel also meant that Partey turned into the inverted RB but that wasn't too obvious because he continued to hold on to his position at the base of midfield. Our shape seemed like a back three with White-Saliba-Tierney but it was actually a back four with Partey slotting in to RB while White and Saliba become a CB pairing.
There also seems to be a lot more cohesion in the team and the number of rotations are insane. Other than our GK, it's hard to pinpoint the exact position most other squad members featured in.
It was a great day at the office and not all we have to do is continue in this rich vein of form. We simply win the next match and hope for the best. Until we meet again, up the Arsenal.
You are a gas man . Win charity shield and the league is over. Can't wait to meet Arsenal this year. It will be delightful.
Mate, I'm not sure you watched the match. If you did, you won't be excited about meeting us.
By the way, tell me why it wasn't Spuds playing the charity shield again?
2021 Leicester won the community shield against Man City & finished 8th in the league. Outside the top 4
2022 Liverpool won the community shield against Man City & finished 6th in the league. Outside the top 4.
In 2023 Arsenal wins the Community Shield against Man City. I hope it's not what I am thinking 👀
Stats like this are very pointless because there's no connection between them and reality. There's no context, no analysis and nothing that suggests they're based on anything but ass