After a long break, club football is finally back. In the first competitive match from England, Premier League champions Manchester City clashed with FA Cup winners Liverpool.
With some star additions on both teams, the game was expected to be a high-intensity affair between two quality teams. And it did not disappoint. Liverpool’s right back, Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring with a pin-point shot from outside the box to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
Arnold curled his strike into the far post with City Goalkeeper Ederson unable to reach. The goal came after Mohammad Salah set up TAA just outside the 18-yard box after taking two defenders along with him. Arnold saw the opportunity and placed the ball into the top left corner.
Watch the Goal here
The assist ? grabs one for himself!@TrentAA #CommunityShield pic.twitter.com/EZV6t5wQsL
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) July 30, 2022
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s only strike in the first half took Liverpool ahead in the first half before Julian Alvarez levelled the score in the 70th minute. Liverpool star signing Darwin Nunez was introduced in the second half and he made an impression from the word get-go. In the 81st minute, a looping Nunez’s header touched Ruben Diaz’s hand in the penalty area which was awarded to Liverpool after a VAR check.
Salah converted the penalty giving Liverpool a lead in the final ten minutes. Trying to level the score-line again Manchester City threw their men forward allowing gaps to appear in their defence. The Premier League winners were found out at the back again when Nunez headed an Andrew Robertson cross past Ederson to give Liverpool a 3-1 win in the Community Shield.
Manchester City star signing Erling Haaland failed to impress.
Manchester City’s star signing Erling Haaland who tore through the Bundesliga in the past two seasons failed to impress against a quality Liverpool defence. The 22-year-old striker also missed a sitter in the second half. Liverpool defenders were able to isolate the Norwegian as he could only touch the ball eight times in the whole game.
With this win, Liverpool has laid down a marker for the upcoming season in what is going to be another exciting year of football. Recently the two teams have been in a league of their own with City having won four Premier League titles in the last five years. Liverpool on the other hand also won their first Premier League in 2019 as well as a Champions League in 2018. The new season of the Premier League will start on August 6th.
