Ask any football fan their views on the Community Shield and you’re likely to receive a mixed set of responses.
Simply a glorified friendly in the eyes of many, for others the annual curtain-raiser represents the chance to lay down an early marker for the upcoming season.
There was an added edge to the 100th edition of this annual fixture, however, not least because the contest was taking place away from Wembley for the first time in a decade. Billed as the Erling Haaland vs Darwin Nunez battle before a ball had even been kicked, both sets of supporters were no doubt desperate to see their new summer signings in the flesh at the King Power Stadium.
As the countdown to kick-off continued ahead of proceedings, the loudest cheer to arrive from the City end arrived when Haaland’s name was announced on the PA system as team news was announced.
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For Liverpool fans who did follow the first-team on their pre-season travels to the Far East, the wait would go on to witness Nunez leading the line as Roberto Firmino was given the nod alongside Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Firmino has also found himself in the headlines this week as speculation surrounding his future continues. Jurgen Klopp stressed the samba star was the ‘heart and soul’ of the team during his pre-match press conference and Reds supporters were quick to show their appreciation for the forward, chanting the Brazilian’s name inside the opening two minutes.
With no Nunez on the pitch, this was therefore Haaland’s opportunity to add to his debut goal scored for the club last Sunday. It proved to be an afternoon of frustration for City’s star striker, who lost his opening aerial battle with Joel Matip and experienced a similar lack of success up against Virgil van Dijk.
Haaland’s only major chance of the opening 45 minutes came ten minutes before the break, thwarted by Adrian’s smart save before failing to adjust his footing moments later as a second opportunity went begging.
Nunez’s big moment eventually came just before the hour mark as Firmino made way, and the 23-year-old came close to making an instant impact after being brought down by Ederson inside the penalty area.
Buoyed by his immediate effect, the former Benfica man was denied by the face of Ederson moments later as the Reds pushed for a second goal. City eventually got back on level terms, though it was the club’s other lesser-known striking option, Julian Alvarez, who was the man to restore parity.
A penalty shootout appeared to be on the agenda after this equaliser, only for Nunez to rise highest inside the City box and win a penalty after a VAR check returned the verdict of a Ruben Dias handball. Mohamed Salah duly converted from the spot to put Liverpool back in front.
Then came the moment that summed up the contrasting fortunes of City and Liverpool’s big-money summer arrivals. First, Nunez headed into the bottom corner to put the tie out of reach before Haaland rattled the crossbar from point-blank range in stoppage time.
The look on the face of the Norwegian said it all. This was not his day at the office. For Nunez, his cameo appearance could hardly have gone any better.
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