LONDON >> Chastened by a decisive penalty miss at the recent European Championship, Manuel Akanji was happy to be placed near the end of Manchester City’s list of spot-kick takers during a shootout against Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday.

Imagine how the Switzerland defender felt, then, when the opportunity fell to him to score the winning penalty at Wembley Stadium.

After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, City beat United 7-6 in a shootout to win the traditional curtain-raiser to the English soccer season between the winners of last season’s Premier League (City) and FA Cup (United).

In the Euro 2024 quarterfinals last month, Akanji was left with “deep emptiness, deep sadness” — in the words of Switzerland coach Murat Yakin — when he was the only player to not convert a penalty in a shootout loss to England. On that occasion, Akanji took Switzerland’s first attempt.

NFL preseason

Love throws long TD pass on Green Bay’s 3rd play, Packers down Browns 23-10 >> Jordan Love made the most of limited playing time, throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks on Green Bay’s third play as the Packers rolled to a exhibition win over Cleveland.

Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension at the start of training camp last month, completed both pass attempts in his one series on the field. Sean Clifford replaced the 25-year-old Love.

QB Williams oversees 2 field-goal drives in preseason debut >> Caleb Williams showed signs of promise in the No. 1 draft pick’s preseason debut, overseeing a pair of drives ending in field goals in Chicago’s victory over Buffalo.

The 22-year-old out of Southern California completed four of seven attempts for 95 yards, and also converted a third-and-9 by bolting out of the pocket for a 13-yard gain.

Daniels impressive in his only drive >> Jayden Daniels ran for a touchdown after throwing a perfectly placed deep pass for his first NFL completion to get Washington into New York territory in the Commanders’ preseason-opening loss to the Jets.

Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick from LSU, and most of the Commanders’ starters on offense played just the opening series against Jets backups — and the young QB kept it going on his second pass when he connected with Dyami Brown for 42 yards along the right sideline on third-and-6 from Washington’s 34.

Tennis

Anisimova upsets Sabalenka to reach Toronto semifinals >> Amanda Anisimova upset second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka to reach the National Bank Open semifinals, her first victory over a top-10 player in nearly two years.

One of five U.S. quarterfinalists, the 22-year-old Anisimova took a mental-health break from tennis last year. She has two WTA Tour titles — in 2019 in Bogota and 2022 in Melbourne.

Anisimova will face eighth-seeded Emma Navarro in an all-American semifinal. Navarro beat fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Defending champion Sinner advances in rain-delayed Montreal event >> Top-seeded defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the National Bank Open quarterfinals, beating Alejandro Tabilo of Chile in the rain-delayed tournament.

The Italian star was set to face fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia on Saturday night. Rain washed out all play Friday as remnants of Tropical Storm Debby rolled through.

Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal match against Matteo Arnaldi of Italy on Saturday night.

Baseball

Injured Orioles starter Rodriguez expected back this season >> Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will be shut down from throwing for at least 10 days because of a mild strain in his right shoulder, but Orioles general manager Mike Elias expects him to return before the regular season ends.

The Orioles put the 24-year-old on the 15-day injured list Wednesday. The move came one day after he was scratched from a start at Toronto and returned to Baltimore for tests.

Rodriguez (13-4, 3.86 ERA) is tied for the most wins in the majors this season.