In tonight's exciting Community Shield final, Manchester United and Manchester City gave their fans a great showdown. Although United drew 1-1 with their opponents in regular time, they unfortunately lost 6-7 in the penalty shootout and missed out on the trophy. After the match, United manager Jens Ten Hagar was interviewed by ITV and gave an in-depth reflection and summary of the match.
Ten Hagar began by honestly expressing how hard it was to accept the loss: "It's a frustrating result, especially when the team as a whole is playing well but ends up losing, it's a particularly strong feeling. Every player and coach will feel deep pain, but we must learn to draw strength from this and carry this belief and fighting spirit into the next league matches."
He specifically mentioned his team's missed chances in the game: "Thinking back to the FA Cup final, we managed to score the second goal just before half-time, showing great form and strength. Unfortunately, we couldn't replicate that performance again tonight. Although we created many chances, we failed to convert them into goals and this is something we need to reflect on and improve."
Regarding Sancho's missed penalty in the penalty shootout, Ten Hag showed the coach's tolerance and understanding: "Sancho is a very good penalty taker, and he has proved his ability many times in the past matches. Today he failed to score a penalty, which is undoubtedly regrettable, but this is part of the game of soccer. We will continue to support him and believe he will be able to find his form in future games."
Speaking about his thoughts on the game as a whole, Ten Hag emphasized the positives for United: "We drew with Manchester City, which is an honor in itself. Rashford was very forward on the pitch and he also showed great defensive skills. We created a lot of chances and put the opponents under great pressure in possession. We can see a lot of positives from the game in these stats, which is something we need to continue to build on in the future."
Finally, Ten Hagar re-emphasized the team's determination and belief, "Although we were not able to win the title tonight, we will take this loss as a motivation to move forward. We believe in our own strength and ability, and we believe that if we are united and work hard, we will be able to achieve better results in the next league matches."
