It was the sort of goal Riyad Mahrez has tended to score for Manchester City, the kind that helped the Algerian strike 39 times in two seasons when he was not even always a first choice. Yet it was not Mahrez: he is gone to Al-Ahli and if a deluxe squad player looked irreplaceable, there came an illustration that City have a potential successor with some similar qualities. But, even though it came in the first game since Mahrez’s departure, perhaps not for this season. Out of the academy, off the bench, Cole Palmer scored City’s first spectacular goal at Wembley since Ilkay Gundogan two months earlier. This time it did not yield silverware: City’s last three competitive games, separated by the summer, have consisted of a trio of finals and they lost the least important, perhaps cruelly for Palmer, who had more reason to pronounce himself “gutted” than most. As Arsenal brought in their £105 million signing, Declan Rice, City brought on the local lad who cost them nothing. As Mahrez used to, he cut in from the right flank and curled in a shot with his left foot. As Mahrez increasingly was, he was a substitute; an impact sub at that. That impact was diminished by Leandro Trossard’s deflected 101st-minute equaliser and a loss in the subsequent shootout. Many a Community Shield can be forgotten; this might not be remembered as Palmer’s day after all. But it was an illustration of ability, it remains to be seen where it will be glimpsed again this season. City have not bought anyone to take over from Mahrez. Yet if there is a vacancy in a squad that, after Raheem Sterling left last year, now looks shorter of wingers, Palmer could still be headed for the exit. He has a queue of suitors and City will consider loaning him out. Brighton are thought to be keen. Burnley were, though they have a stack of wingers. Palmer may not take the path of Phil Foden, the young Mancunian who stayed in Manchester. If his route is into the City side, he may require a long and winding road. “He wanted to play more minutes last season,” Guardiola said. “We have to talk with the club. I don’t know what is going to happen with him to find a solution with him.” Palmer hinted that first-team football elsewhere may be preferable to cameos at the Etihad Stadium. “We’ll have to see what the plan is for next season and hopefully play as many games as possible,” he said. He made the most of a quarter of regulation time at Wembley. It was enough to earn him the player-of-the-match award, albeit before the late drama added a different sheen to proceedings. When he entered proceedings, he seemed the lesser partner in a double act, brought on with Kevin de Bruyne. When they combined, the Belgian’s first assist of the season was rather overshadowed by the finish, curled around Aaron Ramsdale. It was Palmer’s fifth goal for City. A man who scored 52 last season had exited with an expected goals score of 0.00. It was a sign of the lack of service to Erling Haaland. As starting the season by drawing a blank in the Community Shield is now an annual routine, it feels less of a concern than the Norwegian’s underwhelming debut against Liverpool last year. Haaland’s importance is obvious after a campaign that was the most productive of any player’s since Dixie Dean was in his heyday. If there is a reason to argue it is still greater this season it is because City’s two summer departures, Mahrez and Gundogan, had a shared attribute: each could prove prolific, whether from a deeper or wider position. It was most useful in the false-nine years, the interregnum between Sergio Aguero and Haaland. They were the respective top scorers in the two previous seasons. Yet it is a skillset City have yet to import: Mateo Kovacic has come in for Gundogan but rarely finds the net. So far, no winger has joined. Guardiola started with technicians – in Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva – who are infrequent scorers. He began with two who got into double figures last season, Julian Alvarez and Haaland, who got half the way to triple figures. He brought on two more, in Foden and De Bruyne. Subdued at the start, City looked brighter with an injection of impetus from the Belgian and a moment of class from Palmer. It was a reminder that they have often prospered by allying their assurance in possession with moments of individual brilliance, often from De Bruyne or Mahrez. But even as Palmer suggested he may be the heir to the Algerian, it was followed by the feeling that it will not be at City just yet. Read More How much added time? Football’s new guidelines and the impact they will have Arsenal ‘obviously paid way too much’ for Declan Rice, says Roy Keane Can Mikel Arteta become Pep Guardiola’s greatest nemesis – or merely the latest? How much added time? Football’s new guidelines and the impact they will have Keira Walsh: England’s deep-lying playmaker in profile Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines

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Republic of Ireland coach Stephen Kenny insists he cannot allow himself to wonder what might have been after his sliding doors moment in Faro. The 51-year-old will send his team into Euro 2024 qualifier battle with European minnows Gibraltar in the Algarve on Monday evening knowing their automatic qualification hopes are already over, and that even the chance of a wild card via the play-offs may be out of their grasp. Just how different things could have been had his last visit to the Estadio Algarve, for a World Cup qualifier against Portugal in September 2021, not ended with a last-gasp Cristiano Ronaldo double which transformed a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory for the hosts – and established Ronaldo as international football’s leading scorer – is something upon which Kenny admits he has reflected since. Kenny said: “You can’t dwell on things, but have I reflected on it? Of course. “We were 1-0 ahead after 89 minutes and the game should be finished out. Cristiano Ronaldo has other ideas and the world record was on the line that night, so he was hugely motivated to break that. “It was a very good performance that night. VAR intervened for an absolute cast-iron penalty to go 2-0 up in the second half, nailed-on penalty. “That’s the way it goes. What ifs… there’s no point in complaining. You move on and that’s it.” If we were to play any game, we'd play to win, any international game Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny Ireland ultimately did not make it to last year’s World Cup finals, and neither will they be in Germany next summer unless their fortunes change markedly and they manage to secure a play-off spot and make it count. There is even a complicated scenario in which they might be better off losing their final qualifier in the Netherlands next month depending on results elsewhere, although Kenny insists he is not even contemplating that. He said: “No, it’s not something that’s really entered our heads. It’s not something that really we’d focus on. If we were to play any game, we’d play to win, any international game. “We would just focus on Gibraltar tomorrow. It’s an international game that we want to win. We have to get a win under our belt tomorrow and I’m not really fixated on that scenario.” Kenny, who confirmed that his contract would cover any play-off, has found himself in the firing line since Friday night’s 2-0 home defeat by Greece, although with World Cup finalists France and the Dutch also in Group B, the alarm bells starting ringing after their 2-1 reverse in Athens in June. However, asked if he would resign should things go from bad to worse in Faro, he said: “I’m not considering resigning. My contact is to the end of the campaign and I will finish it. “We want to finish the campaign strongly and we are very determined to do that. After that, it’s completely out of my control. I have no control over the rest.” Read More Wales defeat Croatia to boost Euro 2024 qualification hopes Steve Borthwick hails ‘written off’ England after reaching World Cup semi-final Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash Jos Buttler tells England to ‘let it hurt’ after World Cup loss to Afghanistan Baltimore boss John Harbaugh thrilled to end ‘heck of a week’ in London on high Talking Points as Republic of Ireland seek win against minnows Gibraltar

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