It took help from VAR but Liverpool will lift the Community Shield following a 3-1 victory over Manchester City. A stellar strike by Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the scoring in the 21st minute as Liverpool came out of the gate swarming Manchester City. Taking advantage of Nathan Ake in the back line and Joao Cancelo embodying his new number seven number and not defending at left back, it was too easy for Liverpool to get their attack going early on.
With Aymeric Laporte out until September after undergoing knee surgery, City will have to balance the defense if they don't strike a deal with Brighton for Marc Cucurella. Ruben Dias can't do all the defending on his own and Fernandinho is no longer with the squad to slot in as a reserve center back. Either John Stones will need to come into the lineup or, Pep Guardiola will need to dip into the youth ranks which he has been reluctant to do.
Guardiola's side did grow into the match with Kevin de Bruyne creating chances for the front three of Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland, and Riyad Mahrez but they weren't on the same page to make them count. The improvement came when play was funneled to Haaland but as that's not a Guardiola team style, there will be growing pains.
Late in the match, after a VAR review, Julian Alvarez opened his City scoring account after Phil Foden's effort was saved by Adrian before Alvarez pounced on the follow-up. But Liverpool responded. City would concede the go ahead goal to Mohamed Salah via unfortunate circumstances.
After consulting VAR, Darwin Nunez's header was judged to have hit Ruben Dias' hand and Salah's penalty was true. Liverpool the put the match out of sight as City couldn't contain Nunez in the box and his diving header late in stoppage time sealed the deal. After 16 years, Liverpool regain the Community Shield while also dealing an early psychological blow to Manchester City in the title race.
Haaland had a chance to bring things closer near the end of the match but he skied his opportunity in a shot that he'll surely want back.
Here are a few takeaways from the match:
Trent Alexander-Arnold appreciation post
While Alexander-Arnold may need to thank Ake for his opener, how he makes these first time finishes look so easy is out of this world. Most players striking a ball like this would be front page news, but it's another day for Alexander-Arnold. After scoring two goals and assisting 12 in Premier League play last season, Alexander-Arnold is off to another strong start for continuing his reign as the best right back in the world.
Growing pains for the Man City attack
Grealish, Haaland, and Mahrez looked like they were playing for three different teams to start the match. Both Mahrez and Haaland wanted to shoot first and pass later and Grealish's dribbling didn't open up much space when Liverpool knew that he couldn't find his attackers in the box. As Grealish has struggled to get used to life on the wing for Manchester City, it may be worth trying him deeper and more central where his skill on the ball offers more of a direct threat.
Things improved when Foden and Alvarez entered because they knew that their role was to support Haaland. City looks like a different squad when Foden is playing as opposed to when he is out of the squad and that's something to watch as the season goes on. After losing Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus during the summer it's not like City are overflowing with depth in forward areas. While those who departed will be happy with their key roles as starters for Chelsea and Arsenal, Guardiola could've used them today when City needed chance creators in the final third.
Outlook for the season
The score doesn't tell the story of how little there was to separate these sides which makes sense as City only won the title by one point last season. These are still the best teams in the Premier League and anyone else will need to essentially be perfect to catch them. But Liverpool's edge in fitness showed as Jugen Klopp has overloaded their preseason with matches so that they can hit the ground running. Even after winning the Community Shield Saturday, the Reds will play Strasbourg in a friendly Sunday as their final preparation before opening the season against Fulham on August 6.
City has played a more traditional preseason and Haaland isn't up to full fitness yet, but once they hit their stride things will be fine. It's important to remember that with their performance Saturday, City likely defeats any Premier League team not taking part in European Play this season. Guardiola has tinkers to make but if City doesn't retain their Premier League title, Liverpool will be the only team that can come for it.