 Wembley Stadium in London hosted the match. | |||||||
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| Date | 7 August 2021 (2021-08-07) | ||||||
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| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Paul Tierney (Lancashire)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 45,602 | ||||||
←2020 2022 → | |||||||
The2021 FA Community Shield (also known asThe FA Community Shield supported byMcDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 99thFA Community Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season'sPremier League,Manchester City, and the winners of the previous season'sFA Cup,Leicester City.[3] This was Manchester City's first FA Community Shield appearance since2019 when they beatLiverpool 5–4 onpenalties after a 1–1 draw, and Leicester's first since losing 2–1 toManchester United in the2016 edition. The game was played on 7 August 2021 atWembley Stadium inWembley,London, with Leicester beating Manchester City 1–0 with a 89th-minute penalty byKelechi Iheanacho.[4]
Arsenal were the defending champions as winners of the2020 FA Community Shield, but did not qualify for this edition, as they failed to win either thePremier League orFA Cup. The match was televised live onITV. It was the first time the FA Community Shield wentfree-to-air on television since the2012 FA Community Shield, which was also shown on ITV.[5]
Leicester City won their first FA Cup title after beatingChelsea 1–0 in thefinal.[6] They were appearing in their third FA Community Shield match, having won one (1971), and lost one (2016).
Manchester City won their thirdPremier League title in four years under the management ofPep Guardiola, afterderby rivalsManchester United lost 2–1 to Leicester City atOld Trafford on 11 May 2021.[7] They were appearing in their 13th match, having won six (1937,1968,1972,2012,2018,2019), and lost six (1934,1956,1969,1973,2011,2014).
In the first half, Steffen managed to save a shot from Vardy with his trailing right foot while diving to the left, with ball coming back off the left post. In the last minute of the match Leicester were awarded a penalty when Aké tripped former City forwardKelechi Iheanacho in the penalty area after he had failed to control a pass fromRodri.[8] Iheanacho scored the penalty left-footed to the right of the net to win the game 1–0.[9] This was the first time that a team from outside the so-calledBig Six had won the Charity/Community Shield since 1995, whenEverton beatBlackburn Rovers.[10]
          Leicester City[11] |     Manchester City[11] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[12]
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Leicester City bossBrendan Rodgers spoke toBBC Radio Leicester about winning the Community Shield for the first time: "There was a great feeling coming here today. Every Leicester player, fan, staff member coming here, it was a really special feeling. We wanted to take that into the game and keep that feeling going, and thankfully we've done that."Manchester City managerPep Guardiola congratulated Leicester on their win and said, "I am more than satisfied with how we played. Many things were really good, the young players were excellent. We got minutes for players so in general, many good things." Guardiola gave debuts toacademy playersCole Palmer,Samuel Edozie andBen Knight; Edozie and Palmer started the match and Knight came off the bench to replaceFerran Torres in the 74th minute.[11]
Leicester City started their2021–22 Premier League campaign with a 1–0 win overWolverhampton Wanderers at theKing Power Stadium, withJamie Vardy scoring the only goal in the 41st minute,[13] while Manchester City began the defence of their league title at theTottenham Hotspur Stadium where they facedTottenham Hotspur; they lost 1–0 to aSon Heung-min goal in the 55th minute, giving new Tottenham Hotspur head coachNuno Espírito Santo his first win in charge of the club. Manchester City's record signingJack Grealish made his first start for the club in that match.[14]
