Jack Grealish makes debut but Leicester deserve Community Shield win over Manchester City

Jack Grealish has barely had time to process becoming the country’s first £100 million footballer but, if he was suddenly feeling an enormous weight of expectation, he did a pretty decent job of hiding it as he entered the fray midway through the second half with Manchester City supporters hoping he could produce a fairytale start.

As it happened, it was another substitute who would settle the game in Leicester’s favour and, in doing so, ensure Grealish will have to wait a little longer for his first piece of silverware with his new club.

City have hit great heights under Pep Guardiola since Kelechi Iheanacho left the club in 2017, but the Nigeria striker came off the bench to win and then convert the late penalty that ensured it was last season’s FA Cup finalists who claimed the new campaign’s first trophy.

It’s ‘only’ the Community Shield, you say? There are plenty who do not attach much importance to it, but Guardiola has always counted it among his trophy haul and, given the way Leicester lustily celebrated victory, Brendan Rodgers seems keen his team adopt a similar mentality: that winning any trophy at Wembley matters greatly.

Grealish will certainly have been given an early insight into Guardiola’s mindset. City, of course, are targeting much bigger prizes, but the Catalan expects to win everything and wants his players to think the same way.

“I would have loved to win this game,” the City manager said afterwards, but he already seems to have resolved that this campaign could follow a similar trajectory to the previous one, when a disrupted pre-season left them well short of fitness and scrambling to get up to speed. Leicester took advantage of City’s rustiness and legginess, and others will hope to do so, too.

Indeed, the onus may be on the rest of the Premier League’s title challengers to try to build up some sort of early lead over City before the cavalry returns for the champions and they start to go through the gears.

They were without so many first team regulars here and, with Tottenham and Arsenal to play in two of their first three games, Guardiola is hoping sheer talent is enough to dig out results given that the fitness levels are not there yet. “We will arrive like it happened last season – late, late, late,” he said.

“We will have to adapt, adapt and adapt. Last season we started a little flat in terms of results and were not stable, but after a while we were there and started to win. From what I saw today, I’m incredibly confident that many good things will happen this season.”

Wembley was two-thirds full, Leicester fans outnumbering their City counterparts and goading them in turn for their perceived lack of support.

Maybe some are just not quite ready to venture out to large-scale events, perhaps others were put off by the number of positive Covid tests which originated from England’s semi-final and final at this venue.

Then again, City seem to visit Wembley so often these days, and doubtless expect to do so again this season, that their supporters resolved there would be more worthwhile trips to come and saved themselves the expense.

Maybe more advance notice of Grealish’s signing would have encouraged more down. Both sets of players took the knee before kick-off and were met with a mixture of cheers and jeers for doing so. That is likely to be a theme this season.

With the Euros and Copa America finishing less than four weeks ago and the Olympic men’s football final on Saturday, the new domestic season feels like it has come round awfully quickly. Too quickly for Guardiola, in truth.

Even his appearance seemed to reflect that, the City manager’s black pants and white T-shirt combo giving him the look of a fitness instructor who had spent much of the day knocking around the house in his sport casuals.

“We cannot work” was his blunt summary coming into this, a reference to how tournaments, injuries, a wait for new signings and Covid-related issues have disrupted Mr Meticulous’s preparations.

Only four of City’s starters were first team regulars and, with Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ederson and Gabriel Jesus not due to return until next week, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden injured, and Aymeric Laporte, who is isolating, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, whose wife has just given birth, missing, there were starts for youngsters Sam Edozie and Cole Palmer.

Rodgers fielded arguably his strongest front six, with Jamie Vardy drawing an excellent save from Zack Steffen in the best chance of the first half, but had the majority of his first-choice defence missing. Wesley Fofana will undergo an operation on a fractured fibula and damaged medial ligaments on Monday and will not be seen again this year.

Jonny Evans and James Justin are also injured, and Timothy Castagne was not quite ready to return from the eye socket fracture he suffered at the Euros with Belgium. It is futile to read too much into a game like this, but the challenge for Guardiola, at least up until the international break next month, will be to find a way to combat the impact of an insufficient pre-season.

City discovered another gear after the interval and Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick required a superb save from Kasper Schmeichel but Leicester looked the sprightlier, with Harvey Barnes a particular threat.

With 25 minutes left, the man City fans had come to watch was finally summoned from the bench. There was a huge roar from one side of the stadium as the PA read out Grealish’s name and the former Aston Villa midfielder replaced Edozie on the left of City’s attack.

Whether that becomes his natural home in this team remains to be seen – there is talk Guardiola has plans for him centrally – but Leicester seemed hell-bent on ensuring Grealish had little space in which to manoeuvre and snuffed him out on the handful of occasions he carried the ball threateningly towards their penalty box.

In the end, it was Iheanacho who had the final say and denied Grealish a dream start. There was something very pre-season about the way Nathan Ake casually received Rodri’s pass, thinking he had more time than he did. Iheanacho was on him like a rash and, while Steffen made an excellent save to deny Patson Daka, it did not matter because referee Paul Tierney had decided it was a penalty.

“Jack didn’t come to play 25 minutes, he came to play for five or six years,” Guardiola said. ”He was really good – aggressive, going against full-backs and every time he had the ball there were three players [around him]. We will know him, and step by step he will find the best.”

7:10PM

Full time: Leicester City 1 Manchester City 0

That's it, that solitary goal is good enough. Leicester deserved that, particularly on the first half performance. City looked short of a gallop but, in fairness, had more fringe players than Leicester, who put out pretty much the first XI. Some of the MCFC players acting the giddy goat with the officials after the match but I'd say they have no serious case.

Ake the guy who gave the pen away. Grealish came on but didn't do a lot. Anyhoo, no doubt my colleagues at Wembley have got all the match reports, analysis, profiles and the rest so we'll crack on with that. I'll keep this blog running for a few minutes in case Pep says something bananas. Cheers!

7:07PM

90 mins: Leicester City 1 Manchester City 0                 

'Iheanacho has inflicted the first defeat of the season on his former team,' says Matterface of the ex-City player.

Dixon: 'Well he might have done, it is not over yet.'

Is it going to be a long season, Lee?

7:05PM

90 mins: Leicester City 1 Manchester City 0               

Grealish runs into the box, no doubt looking for a foul, but Amartey defends well and watches him like a hawk.

7:04PM

GOAL! Leicester City 1 Manchester City 0 (Iheanacho 88p)

Sam Matterface: 'Rodgers waits, he knows it is a huge moment.' It's a pre-season friendly, you gotta leave yourself somewhere to go, Sam. Is it really huge? What is huger than huge?

Iheanacho steps up, smacks it into the roof of the net, and hopefully that should be enough.

7:02PM

87 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0               

Definitely a penalty. Dias and Fernandinho booked for protesting. Iheanacho himself will step up for the penno...

7:01PM

86 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0             

But Nathan Ake has been caught dwelling on the ball, Iheanacho pinches it and breaks. Ake panics, trips him and gives away a penalty.

7:00PM

84 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0             

Steffen with some good work there, racing out to deny Daka.

6:59PM

Roy Keane with some Roy Keaning before the match

6:54PM

76 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0           

Over the last few mins, a veritable raft of subs. A hovercraft.

Off

Bertrand

Cole Palmer

F Torres

Maddison

Tielemans

Barnes

Vardy

On 

Thomas

Bernardo Silva

Ben Knight

Albrighton

Daka

Dewsbury-Hall

Iheanacho.

6:49PM

75 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0           

Sorry for the brief delay in service - it is raining so hard here in London that my Sky dish got temporarily knocked out!

6:46PM

71 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0         

 

6:45PM

70 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0         

6:41PM

66 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0       

Here's a nice move from Barnes, cutting in from the left wing, and curling the ball in for Vardy. He cannot quite get there.

6:37PM

63 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0       

Time for a few (more than a few no doubt) changes.

Rodri seems to be getting ready. Jack Grealish is getting ready.

Edozie and Gundogan are the guys making way.

6:34PM

Some herbert has gone on the pitch

6:33PM

59 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0     

Leicester City lose it! Perera dithers, Mahrez is clear. Well not quite clear, Ndidi has put everything into a covering run and just manages to do enough to put Mahrez off. He fires well over.

6:31PM

58 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0     

Fernandinho and Mahrez trying to wriggle through the defence, solid defence form Leicester and then a trademark break. LEads to a corner.

6:30PM

55 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0   

Man City asking more questions at the start of this half. Short corner. Played short, nicked back to Gundogan - he meets the ball with serious power but has blazed it over. You expect more from the Gun Dog.

6:28PM

51 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0   

Bertrand, by the way, the player who fouled Mahrez there. And into the book goes Ryan, who of course had a previous career as Belgian new wave pioneer Plastic Bertrand at Chelsea.

6:26PM

49 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0 

Dias is a having a good game - when does he not? - and keeping Vardy largely quiet.

6:25PM

48 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0 

Mahrez tears down the middle and is brought down. The player himself takes the freekick but it is a mile over. The Leicester fans, who once loved him, jeer.

6:23PM

47 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Not seen a great amount from Edozie yet but this is a nice run from the young man.

6:21PM

46 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Right then. The Manchester Dolphins playing it around.

6:18PM

Players coming out

Jack Grealish still in his training bib, bless him. So not getting on just yet.

 

6:13PM

Mark Pougatch

with a classic bit of football journalese about both managers losing the plot during the half : 'You might think it is just a pre-season friendly, but just try telling these two'

6:04PM

Half time: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

I agree with big Neil Rowlands, these Man City shirts are well random.

6:03PM

44 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Leicester well on top! Barnes and Maddison showing signs of a really dangerous combo, combining nicely down the left... it's clipped in for Vardy and he shoots.... ooh he has hit the post! That's the last significant action of the half.

6:00PM

42 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Now the fourth official is speaking to Guardiola. Dunno if it is about his tee-shirt. Or about generally carrying on like a pork chop.

5:57PM

40 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Mendy plays the ball into the Leicester box. Palmer and Bertrand go up for it, Bertrand is down and in pain. That looked a bit elbow-y to me from Palmer..

Pep, would you believe, it wants a foul AGAINST Bertrand. The ref books Guardiola! Pep is in a plain white t shirt, confusingly similar to what his players are wearing.

5:54PM

37 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Lee Dixon on ITV: 'Mendy keeps getting dragged out of position following the ball and that is leaving space.'

5:51PM

34 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0             

Leicester playing it around. Pep looking a bit animated. Ayoze Perez leads a break. They cannot find a final ball.

5:48PM

30 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Barnes and Vardy linking up really nicely there, Man City have to hack it behind in something close to desparation.

5:44PM

27 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Cancelo has shoulder barged Barnes. That could have hurt him quite badly because Barnes was looking elsewhere, watching the ball drop.

5:40PM

23 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Mendy drifts out of position, leaving a big hole at left back that LCFC pour through.

Couple of chances in quick succession, Tielemans slips to Perez who connects but doesn't get power or placement. Almost immediately, Ndidi robs Palmer and the young man will be relieved that Vardy cannot convert - his shot was smartly blocked.

5:39PM

22 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Not sure we can read much/anything into the first quarter of the Charity Shield, but... if these were three-year-old horses you'd say that Leicester are a bit more forward in their development. MCFC's rivals will be watching this and thinking maybe, just maybe, they will start this season a bit slowly until they get Stones, Raheem, KDB etc back.

5:36PM

20 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

But another move breaks down as a couple of Man City players fail to grasp what each other are doing, and they lose it. The ball, I mean.

5:35PM

18 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

MCFC deal with that, break, and Mahrez looks momentarily clear. He wins a corner of his own.

LCFC deal with that, but Man City soon have another.

 

5:34PM

17 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

And it is definitely Leicester who are gelling more.

Mahrez has a shot for City but cannot control it. Leicester are soon up the other end and Barnes gets between the lines, hits a hard low shot, and it's turned behind for a corner.

5:34PM

15 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Game is being played at a good intensity and a fair pace, but as you might expect, neither side looking entirely coherent.

MCFC, to be fair, have several fringe players in.

5:29PM

12 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Soyuncu, hair looking splendid as per, comes up for the corner but they cannot find the big defender.

5:28PM

11 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Here is said Harvey Barnes, him and Bertrand getting some purchase down that left for Leicester. HB into the box and he has won a corner.

5:27PM

10 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Harvey Barnes looks fit, which is good to see because he is on the comeback trail, and he's been bright and lively.

5:25PM

Jack

5:24PM

5 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Manchester City have a freekick, central, 30 yards. Gundogan whips it with the right, gets it over the wall, Schmeichel has to look lively but is able to tip it over.

Man City try to take a short corner but get their wires crossed and the ball is wasted into touch.

5:19PM

3 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

It's Leicester who have come out of the traps the quicker.

5:17PM

2 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

Gundogan has bashed Maddison to the floor.

5:17PM

1 mins: Leicester City 0 Manchester City 0

MCFC are in a white shirt and blue shorts, LCFC the opposite. Not sure about this Man City strip at all.

5:15PM

Both teams have

some big names, and some less familiar names, on the bench.

The players take the knee before the match. A few boos. Many more cheers.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Ndidi, Soyuncu, Amartey, Ricardo Pereira, Maddison, Tielemans, Bertrand, Barnes, Perez, Vardy. Subs: Albrighton, Ward, Iheanacho, Benkovic, Choudhury, Daka, Thomas, Soumare, Dewsbury-Hall.

Man City: Steffen, Joao Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Mendy, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Palmer, Mahrez, Torres, Edozie. Subs: Grealish, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Carson, Sandler, Yan Couto, Knight, Doyle, Gomes.

5:11PM

The players

line up along the touchline. Some suits come up to shake hands with the players, well not shake hands actually, but shake. Oh look, one suit has shaken hands with Pep Guardiola.

5:07PM

Wesley

5:01PM

Cole Palmer

is a Manchester lad, from Wythenshawe. He has been with them basically since birth. He captained their Under 18s. Now at the ripe old age of 19, he is making a start. He's played for the in the EFL Cup and come on as a sub for Kevin de Bruyne in the Champions League.

4:53PM

Shirty business

They might flog a few of them. Everyone likes a bit of Jack Grealish don't they?

4:51PM

The season ahead

obviously you'd expect City to be right up there for the Title but the news that Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, and that they might spend£97.5m to do it, suggests that it could be a closer run thing this term, especially if Liverpool have Van Dijk back, right?

4:50PM

Flying Foxes

4:46PM

Brendan Rodgers

'Brilliant to be here, and you have to earn it. We had a history making day to get here.'

'Horrendous incident for us in the week with Wesley (Fofana) being out.'

Gabriel C asks him about Grealish.

'I said to Jack, make sure you buy your mum a bunch of flowers. He is one of the best players in the world for me.'

4:44PM

Guardiola talking to ITV

'We will see if Jack Grealish plays today. Jack is the perfect age and hopefully he can help us for the next five, six years. We have a lot of players coming back late. Next few days, some of these come back. Some players are isolated.'

4:43PM

This is on ITV

Has that always been the case? I don't recall. Anyway.

4:40PM

Sam Edozie

is an 18-year-old, quick and skilful winger, I think he plays left and cuts inside. He was signed from Millwall as a scholar.

Pep says: 'As a young talent, having a special quality, a guy who gets to the box with intention to score a goal - it's so important for wingers. He's an incredible young player with good pace.'

4:39PM

Manchester City team

Steffen, Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Mendy, Fernandinho (C), Gundogan, Palmer, Mahrez, Edozie, Torres.

Subs: Carson, Grealish, Rodrigo, Bernardo, Sandler, Couto, Doyle, Gomes, Knight

4:36PM

Trigger warning: penalties

If this is level 90 minutes, we go straight to penalties, the last time Wembley witnessed that of course was the Italy vs England match. In fact, three of the last four Community Shields have gone to pens, so you wouldn't be at all surprised.

4:29PM

Both of these sides

begin the season with plenty of injury concerns.

Still, that can be a good opportunity for some of the lesser-known players: teenagers Cole Palmer and Sam Edozie start for the champions along with goalkeeper Zack Steffen.

FA Cup winners Leicester are without injured defenders Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, James Justin and Timothy Castagne,

Ryan Bertrand starts as I said. Fellow summer signings Patson Daka and Boubakary Soumare are among the substitutes.

4:26PM

Ryan Bertrand

who has joined Leicester, is getting a start. Solid player, always thought he does a job.

4:24PM

The teams have been allowed nine subs

and they can use six of them.

4:19PM

And Man City's team

4:18PM

Leicester team annoucement

4:10PM

Pitch looking lush

nice pictures these in fact!

3:18PM

Community Shield coming up

Good afternoon, Manchester City and Leicester City are our contestants this afternoon for the first trophy of the English club football season. They will contest the FA Community Shield at 5.15pm this Saturday afternoon, the match action comes to us from Wembley, and we will have all the live updates and match analysis from 5.15pm and after kick, and of course the team news. The team news for Manchester City vs Leicester City will be with us about 4.15pm or thereabouts.

It might well rain this afternoon, it's a cloudy and overcast day here in London, and it was absolutely tipping it down earlier this afternoon.  Whatever the weather, City fans will be hoping to get a look at their new signing Jack Grealish, and his arrival might be pretty timely: Pep Guardiola said in the build up to this that Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden will both be out for a while with injuries.

That being said, he also made it clear: 'Grealish is not ready to start at all, he was one week training alone but he'll travel with us tomorrow, to settle with the team, for meetings, and he will be on the bench and we'll see what happens. After we'll see what happens but from the beginning, no way.'

His counterpart Brendan Rodgers sounds like he is looking forward to the afternoon. The Leicester City manager said: 'It will be a wonderful occasion. Wembley, full house and a chance to get hold of something at the end of it. Manchester City are a fantastic team.'

My colleague James Ducker, our Northern Football correspondent and general Manchester City expert, has picked out four things to look out for from the match. And here they are:

Jack Grealish: Pep Guardiola has confirmed the England midfielder will be on the substitutes’ bench as Manchester City fans hope to get a first glimpse of their new £100m signing from Aston Villa.

Leicester's defence: Brendan Rodgers was dealt a huge blow this week with Wesley Fofano suffering a fractured fibula. The Leicester manager is already without Jonny Evans until next month so Caglar Soyuncu will have an unfamiliar partner alongside him in central defence.

Brendan's new signings: Leicester fans will hope for a closer look at new signings Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand as they bid for more success next season.

Security at Wembley: The national stadium will be hosting its first major football match since the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy and there will be plenty of eyes on the policing and stewarding after the disorder last month.