Maresca: We missed out on the Community Shield title.

Manchester City, nicknamed "The Blue Moon," suffered a 0-3 defeat to Premier League champions Arsenal in the 2026 Community Shield match after conceding goals in both halves. Maresca stated that the players reacted reasonably well under pressure, but unfortunately failed to capitalize on their scoring opportunities.

Less than a minute into the game, Ben White made a cross, and Calafiori received a through pass from Lewis Skelley before breaking into the penalty area and slotting the ball into the net, giving Arsenal a dream start of 1-0.

In the 28th minute, Ødegaard crossed the ball, Zolis headed it on, and Havertz headed it in to score, giving Arsenal a 2-0 lead over Manchester City.

In the 48th minute of the second half, Zolis made a diagonal pass, and Odegaard followed up and slotted the ball past Manchester City goalkeeper Donnarumma to extend Arsenal's lead to 3-0.

Ultimately, Manchester City lost 0-3 to Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium, failing to win the Community Shield in the new season.

Manchester City manager Maresca said, "I think a large part of the game stemmed from our first goal. Unfortunately, we conceded after just 30 seconds. However, I think the team's reaction was quite good. Before the opponent scored their second goal, we actually created three or four chances and had opportunities to score and equalize."

"It's a pity we couldn't take those chances. After the second goal, the game became much more difficult. Overall, I'm always bothered by this, even when we win, let alone this time when we didn't."

Maresca pointed out, "This is just the beginning, and there are many areas where we need to improve. I think the team's reaction after conceding the first goal was good. Now we need to readjust, analyze this game, and then start focusing on the next game."

“We decided to start Haaland, Nico Aureli and Elliott Anderson, who had only participated in two or three training sessions before. One of the reasons is that sometimes players prefer to warm up normally from the start of the game and then go straight into the game.”

In addition, Maresca stated, "Our plan was to substitute them all after 45 minutes, or at the latest an hour. So, this was a decision we made before the match even started."

On the other hand, the 2026/27 Premier League season will kick off with the first round of matches, with Manchester City hosting Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.

Image source: Internet