Liverpool 3 Manchester City 1
Darwin Nunez sparkles as the Reds lift the first trophy of a new season
Darwin Nunez sparkles as the Reds lift the first trophy of a new season
Growing up in the late 1970’s and being very much a cliched “Child of the 1980's”, I’ve always had a strong affinity for the Charity Shield or, to give the English football season curtain raising game it’s now more politically neutral title, the “Community Shield”. The ending of one football season and the beginning of another always seemed to be an interminable wait of very little football in the sweltering childhood summer months in between, but the players now seemingly gambol from one game/tournament/international friendly/tour/sponsor heavy tournament or pre-season friendly to another, and before the dreaded “Transfer Window” has even before oiled for closure, here we are, the traditional curtain raiser to yet another rather exciting English Premier League season that lies ahead.
At Kick-Off today, the two teams had won a combined 16 Community Shields between them (Liverpool 10 and Manchester City 6) with the Reds of Liverpool also sharing the Shield on 5 other occasions when a drawn match resulted in the two clubs holding the shield for 6 months each.
Oh for such innocent times!
I’ve been lucky enough to attend 6 Charity/Community Shields in my match going years, the first of which was shared with city neighbours Everton in a dour 1–1 draw at Wembley in 1986. Two years later I saw the first of three wins as the Reds defeated Wimbledon 2–1 and a further two years later I saw another drawn game, another 1–1 score line and another shared shield, this time with Manchester United. 2001 saw a rather pleasing 2–1 win over those old and historic foes from Manchester United, a year later came a dour and utterly forgettable 1–0 defeat by Arsenal before my final date with the Community Shield saw another pleasing 2–1 victory, this time over their era defining foes, Chelsea, in 2006.
But the Charity/Community Shield always had that little extra excitement growing up. As well as acting as a season opener and an arguable hyper glorified friendly, it was also the first look at the returning Premier League Champions and FA Cup Winners from the previous season and an important first glimpse at their newest of pre-season signings. The marquee new signings had a mixed late afternoon at Leicester City’s “King Power Stadium” (substituting for a busy Wembley Stadium currently holding the Women’s Euro 2022 tournament) and as the headline of the article suggests, Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez drew first blood in a quite scintillating half hour display as a second half substitute for Roberto Firmino. The summer signing from Benfica forced the game defining penalty scored by Mo Salah on 83 minutes when his header was handled by Manchester City’s captain Ruben Dias. In truth, and with all Red honesty, he should have scored, but after yet another interminable delay as we watched the VAR replay over and over again, a penalty was correctly awarded, and Mo Salah slammed home the resultant penalty kick.
But Nunez’s time would come just 11 minutes later and with only 3 minutes remaining of the lengthy injury time and the match as a whole. Before his stooping header which really sealed the game and Community Shield in Liverpool’s favour he was a constant menace with his short bursts of pace to evade onrushing defenders as well as linking the forward line well and crucially leading it too as a central striker. Only minutes after coming on as a substitute, and with the game now stretched and wide open, Jordan Henderson’s simple through ball set the Uruguayan International free on goal and with just Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to beat, his attempted footballing vernacular “dink” over the Brazilian goalkeeper only resulted in smashing him squarely on the chin and away to safety. Shortly after, a quickly taken corner between Mo Salah and James Milner resulted in the English veteran curling a beautiful cross onto the head of the leaping Nunez who glanced his header narrowly wide. Nunez’s time was coming and when it came, it was a delicious piece of footballing team play.
Akin to the way the Reds sprayed the ball around in a first half they largely dominated, with the ball constantly being played in front of the Manchester City defence but with pace, precision and threat, thus came the game’s fourth and final goal. Substitute (and fellow new signing) Fabio Carvalho won a loose ball just inside the Manchester City half and after exchanging quick passes with fellow substitute Naby Keita released Mo Salah on the right wing and right hand corner of the Manchester City penalty area. Salah’s curling cross was met at the far post by a constantly marauding Andy Robertson and rather than head at goal from an acute angle, he headed back into the path of a still running Darwin Nunez and he stooped near turf level to guide his deft header past a sprawling Ederson.
3–1 up with just 3 minutes to play, the 2022 Community Shield was assured for the Reds of Liverpool and deservedly so, but it hadn’t always been so cut and dried.
On the other side of the ball, Manchester City had three stand out Summer signings of their own. Kalvin Phillips, a summer signing from Leeds United remained on the substitutes bench all game, Julian Alvarez entered the fray at the same time as his counterpart and today’s headliner for Liverpool, Darwin Nunez, and the light Blues major signing of the summer Erling Haaland played every one of the 99 total minutes this afternoon and with just one of those minutes remaining, managed to miss a footballing “sitter”, an open goal, from just six yards out. It rather summed up Haaland’s afternoon. He forced a close in save from Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian midway through a first half he was rather absent from, and his fluffed follow up to the above chance also rather summed up his afternoon.
Not so Julian Alvarez who looked lively, pacey and with a head up style of play akin to Liverpool’s own recent uncut gem, Luis Diaz. With the score in the 70th minute still only showing a slender 1–0 advantage to the Reds, Manchester City forced an equaliser their second half showing deserved. Kevin De Bruyne’s cross was headed goal wards by substitute Phil Foden but Liverpool goalkeeping custodian Adrian should have easily handled the header. The loose ball squirmed from his grasp and he should then have gathered or cleared the resultant free ball but quick thinking from the Argentinian forward Alvarez saw him stab home the loose ball and with 20 minutes of the game still remaining, arguably Manchester City deserved their VAR approved equaliser and were now in the ascendency for the first time all afternoon.
Liverpool’s back up and arguably now third choice goalkeeper Adrian does not fill me with any confidence whatsoever but today is not a day for blame or accusations, rather it is to celebrate the 70+ minute “Man of the Match” performance from Reds captain Jordan Henderson who was the literal tip of the spear and driving force behind his team moving forward, getting forward, progressing the game and then dominating any loose passages of play and starting the forward press all over again. I’ve no idea who was adjudged to be the game’s acronym known “MOM”, but the captain was, and in a display that was yet another one in the eye for his detractors. Both of the Reds other goal scorers today were fantastic in a first half dominated by their team. Trent Alexander Arnold’s 21st minute curling and slightly deflected goal was reward for both player and team and Salah’s late penalty a minor reward to the breakneck pace and speed at which he started the game. Andy Robertson never stopped running from right back (what’s new?), Fabinho was masterful in the first half and yet another set of plaudits need to be passed the way of Thiago Alcantara who was mesmeric in the first half, feisty, irritable and constantly trying to control the game in the second.
Perhaps surprisingly, both Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola fielded incredibly strong and arguable first choice starting XI’s for a game, whatever your sensibilities or reasonings, is never just a glorified pre-season game and season opening friendly. This afternoon was the 100th playing of such a game and rather fittingly it was contested by arguably the two finest club football teams in the entire world. Current holders of the “FIFA World Club Cup” Chelsea and perhaps Real Madrid would contest this assertion but we’d laugh them out of their footballing court. Klopp and Guardiola have consistently created incredible teams for over a decade and more. Guardiola’s Barcelona team may never be eclipsed for footballing artistry and progressive, attacking thinking, but Klopp’s current Liverpool team, with the new additions to an already relentless attacking and ball retaining team, are the only viable challengers to the team Guardiola now continues to mould at Manchester City.
There wasn’t 3 points on offer for a league win today, nor does the 3–1 Liverpool victory mean anything other than a one-off match day win. There is a long, World Cup intervening season ahead. But the Reds won their 11th Charity/Community Shield (16th if you count the shared years) and as Roy Keane (no stranger to lifting a Community Shield or three) so astutely pointed out in colour commentary after the game, Jurgen Klopp and his team were celebrating as if this were the first trophy they’d ever won. I’ve slightly butchered what the ex Manchester United captain said but the essence is there.
Glorified friendly? These were the two greatest club sides in the world competing for the first silverware of the season, and the Reds of Liverpool thoroughly deserved their success and one hopes it’s the first of many for their 23 year old Uruguayan striker who brightened an already feisty, competitive and combative game with a glimpse into what the future holds for Jurgen Klopp and his continually evolving Liverpool team.
“Allez! Allez! Allez!”
Thanks for reading. Please see the Liverpool FC section of my archives for a plethora of articles, both past and present, or the three most recently published articles linked below from my Summer Series of retrospective match reports from a bygone age:
Liverpool 1 Manchester City 3
Retro Series Vol.17 and the infamous Boxing Day defeat that led to glory!medium.com
Liverpool 0 Flamengo 3
The Retro Series Vol.16 “Zico The Destroyer!”medium.com
Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1
Retro Series Vol.15: Jimmy Greenoff sends United to Wembley.medium.com