Manchester City have won the 2023 UEFA Super Cup after beating Sevilla 5-4 on penalties and lifting their fourth trophy of the year. Huge.
Pep Guardiola and his squad were given a pretty early shock to the system after the Europa League champions took the lead in the 25th minute thanks to a thumping header from Youssef En-Nesyri.
The 26-year-old Morrocan forward was the same man who dumped Man United out of Europe in the semi-finals back in April after scoring twice and his goal was enough to send the Spaniards into half-time 1-0 up at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens.
Sevilla nearly made it 2-0 around five minutes into the second half following an impressive counter-attack which was only foiled by an even more impressive save from Ederson. However, as they virtually always do, Man City soon reacted and found their foothold through Cole Palmer‘s equaliser. At it again.
Powering home a header of his own, the Wythenshawe-born youngster who scored the opener in City’s Community Shield defeat against Arsenal got Pep’s team back on level terms in the 63rd minute — what a great few months it’s been for him, having won the U21 Euros with England last month.
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After drawing things up, City started to display more of the fluid football that we’ve seen so much from them in recent years and which helped them win the treble back in June, with 21-year-old Palmer himself being at the centre of a lot of it and nearly grabbing a second just moments later.
Despite having to do without the creative nouse of Kevin de Bruyne, who has now been ruled out for up to four months and could quite probably miss the rest of the year/first half of the new season, the Blues started making a few more chances and turning the screw.
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However, Sevilla were still well and truly in the game, regularly threatening on the break and the longer the game went on, the more it looked like it would go to penalties — and it did. Thankfully for Pep, they managed to get over the line and win the shootout. Here’s the moment they won it:
Both sides delivered a truly incredible set of penalties but it was Nemanja Gudelj’s miss that stung the bar and sealed it for the Manchester side. A second European trophy in just a few months for City, the fourth piece of silverware in 2023 and a fourth Super Cup at a record-three clubs for Pep in his career.
They might have been favourites heading into the match but the opposition certainly didn’t make it easy for them and any team would have found it hard to make it past Sevilla, but they did. Treble-winners and even more emphatic champions of European than before. Not a bad start to the 2023/24 season, is it?
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Meanwhile, earlier today one of their treble-winning squad members reportedly agreed to depart from the Etihad after five years as the club is said to have accepted an offer for defender Aymeric Laporte.
We don’t expect it’ll hold them back from winning even more trophies this season.
Featured Image — Manchester City/TNT Sports (via Twitter)
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Phil Foden picks up Premier League Player of the Year for 2023/24
Danny Jones
Manchester City forward Phil Foden has picked up the Premier League’s Player of the Year award for the 2023/24 season.
Having enjoyed the best statistical campaign to date, with two games still left to play, the Stockport-born star City and England star has swept up his first-ever Premier League POTY award at the age of 23.
The attacking midfielder has already swept up Young Player of the Year twice in his career (2021 and 2022), which was awarded to former teammate Cole Palmer on Friday, and this accolade just goes to show how much of a first-team star he’s become over the past couple of years.
With both awards going to Manc footballers and Foden being the first Englishman to win it since Jamie Vardy in 2015/16, you’ll hear no complaints from us.
Foden has 25 goals and 11 assists this season, his highest tally ever, and with the chance of a domestic double still looming, he could be set for another unreal 12 months in sky blue.
Pep Guardiola’s side simply needs to beat West Ham this Sunday to win their fourth consecutive Premier League title and with a Manchester derby FA Cup final waiting for them next week, the local lad has a big fortnight ahead of him.
Having already become a treble winner with Man City last season, not to mention emerging as one of the first names on the team sheet for the Three Lions, he’s graduated from one of the most talented youngsters to one of the most impressive in Europe – and he’s got the stats to back it up.
Here’s hoping he can round off this year with some more silverware while wearing an England shirt. Here are some of his highlights from this season:
A huge congratulations to Phil Foden on winning the 23/24 Premier League Player of the Year; regardless of who you support, you can’t deny he’s been unreal this season.
In fact, his emergence as a senior figure and somewhat of a leader in this current City side has given us a lot faith for the summer and we’re more convinced than ever that Gareth Southgate must try and build around him if we stand a chance of going for in Euro 2024.
Is it coming home and will a lad from Stockport play a big part in bringing it here?
Cole Palmer wins Premier League’s Young Player of the Year for 2023/24
Danny Jones
Manchester-born and bred footballer, Cole Palmer, has won the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year award for 2023/24 following a spectacular breakthrough campaign.
The ex-Manchester City youth product made his big-money move to Chelsea at the start of this season and has been comfortably one of the best players in the league this year, once again proving the old adage that if you’re good enough you’re old enough.
Sitting second in the race for the Golden Boot behind former teammate Erling Haaland and shining as one of the most creative midfielders in Europe in his first full season, you could have banked on him winning it months ago.
🔵⭐️ OFFICIAL: Cole Palmer wins the award as Premier League Young Player of the Year. 🧊
Chelsea star has scored 22 goals and provided 10 assists in Premier League this season. pic.twitter.com/HYpthQiOU3
Having bagged a hattrick in Chelsea’s remarkable turnaround against Manchester United as well as bagging four against Everton, just to name a couple of his most impressive performances over the past 12 months, he doesn’t like a player who only made a handful of appearances last year.
With the 22-year-old fittingly netting 22 goals not to mention 10 assists and quickly establishing himself as Mauricio Pochettino’s main man, despite the multi-billion squad assembled around him, it’s been nothing short of a remarkable emergence onto the biggest stage.
Having earned his first senior international call-up through his efforts too, he now looks set to be one the players England fans are dying to see start at the Euros – the point where many Blues are now wondering whether they made a mistake letting him go.
Congratulations to the Wythenshawe native on his well-deserved award and we sincerely look forward to seeing what he does in an England shirt this summer.
As for who will pick up the outright Premier League Player of the Year, surely Palmer picking up the youth award means that Phil Foden is set to mop up the main prize?
A clean sweep for Manc footballers. We like the sound of that.