Kelechi Iheanacho’s 89th-minute penalty gave Leicester more Wembley glory as they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the 2021 Community Shield on Saturday.
£100m Jack Grealish was centre of attention when he came on for his Man City debut on 64 minutes but it was Leicester’s sub Iheanacho who made the difference, forcing Nathan Ake into a mistake to win the spot-kick and then emphatically firing home against his former side in front of the Leicester fans, 84 days on from their FA Cup triumph at the same venue.
Leicester had impressed throughout, with Harvey Barnes starring on his return to competitive action from a knee injury which had sidelined him since February, and the winger had been involved when Jamie Vardy’s shot was kicked onto the post by Zack Steffen on the stroke of half-time.
Man City had their moments too, with Riyad Mahrez passing up several good chances to score against his old club, including a great opportunity on the counter-attack in the second half, but despite Grealish’s cameo, in which he showed glimpses of his exciting dribbling ability, the Premier League champions were defeated.
FA Cup winners have now won this prize on six of the last seven occasions against Premier League winners, and while it is unlikely to have a major bearing on how the title race will play out this coming season, it’s clear Pep Guardiola’s side still have work to do to be ready for their Super Sunday opener with Tottenham.
For Leicester, though, they go into their season curtain-raiser with Wolves full of confidence after another Wembley triumph.
