Erik ten Hag’s response when asked about Jadon Sancho’s penalty miss speaks volumes

Erik ten Hag’s response to Jadon Sancho’s penalty miss for Manchester United in the Community Shield says it all.

United lost 7-6 to City in the penalty shootout after both Sancho and Jonny Evans missed their spot kicks.

In normal time, Alejandro Garnacho put Unitedahead at Wembley on 82 minutes, but Bernardo Silva equalised seven minutes later with one of just three shots on target over the 90 minutes.

While it wasn’t exactly a classic to kick off the season, the penalty shootout at least added an extra layer of drama.

And although Evans’ penalty was hit comfortably over the bar, Sancho was only denied by a fine save from Ederson, who pushed his spot kick onto the post.

The England winger was playing his first competitive fixture for United in nearly a year after he was exiled from the first team following a public dispute with Ten Hag last September.

He did not train with the first team for several months before moving on loan to Borussia Dortmund in January.

Now back at Old Trafford, Sancho and Ten Haghave resolved their differences, and the 24-year-old has been restored to the first team.

And the Dutchman appeared keen to draw a line under the miss in his post-match interview by backing his player’s penalty-taking abilities.

He told ITV Sport: “Yes, he’s a very good penalty taker, and today he missed. This is part of the game.”