Andre Onana's penalty antics against Erling Haaland ended in failure as Manchester United lost 7-6 to Manchester City in a penalty shootout in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Man United goalkeeper Onana tried his best to put off Man City players with penalty antics but saved just one out of eight spot-kicks, according to international media.
Premier League champions Man City beat FA Cup winners Man United 7-6 on penalties to win the Community Shield after the traditional season curtain-raiser finished level at 1-1, Reuters reported.
Man City won the trophy for the first time since 2019 to end a run of defeats in Community Shield matches, following losses to Arsenal last season, Liverpool in 2022, and Leicester City in 2021.
The two fierce rivals played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in regulation time in the traditional season opener.
With extra time not in operation for the Community Shield, the match went straight to penalties. United were 3-1 up in the shootout after Bernardo had his poor penalty saved by Onana to put the Reds in the driving seat.
The Cameroonian's confidence was clearly up as the Norwegian stepped up and he chose to employ mind games to try and get the better of his opponent.
The United goalkeeper stood to the left hand side of his goal and invited Haaland to place his kick into the right corner.
Haaland was deep in concentration at first, but soon realized what Onana was doing and smirked at him as he prepared to take his kick.
Unfortunately for Onana, his psychological trick did not quite work as Haaland took a short run-up before slotting his penalty into the side where Onana had been standing.
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Erling Haaland is pictured laughing at Andre Onana's penalty antics during Man City's shootout against Man United at Wembley on August 10, 2024. Photo: SPORTbible |
This was not the first time Onana had tried to get inside his opponents' heads; he faced criticism for similar tactics earlier.
During a pre-season match against Arsenal, the 28-year-old attempted the same strategy against Gabriel Magalhaes.
Former United player Paul Scholes also bashed Onana, expressing concern about the keeper's overall style.
Meanwhile, Man City clinched the Community Shield, boosting their confidence ahead of the Premier League kick-off next week.