Liverpool struck first in what could be another memorable season of titanic tussles with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
Goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez helped wrap up a 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium last night to claim the Community Shield.
There were plenty of talking points from the game - not least the obvious comparisons between Nunez and Erling Haaland - and here is what the national media made of the occasion:
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Jamie Jackson in the Guardian:
As an augury of the 2022-3 season Liverpool will be the happier as Jürgen Klopp’s team already appear a slick team ready for serious combat. Manchester City do not.
Pep Guardiola was hardly concerned about losing this first ever Community Shield staged in July but may scrutinise how Erling Haaland was near-anonymous throughout as this, despite the manager’s post-defeat protestations, disrupted the side’s rhythm.
The No 9’s sole moment came when igniting the sequence that led to Julian Álvarez’s equaliser – and his first in City colours – and he ended with the type of point-blank glaring miss that may haunt, blazing over when it was easier to score.
At the final whistle Liverpool had the excellent Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah on the scoresheet plus the dynamic-looking Darwin Núñez, who scored their third and created the Egyptian’s penalty.
Salah, in a raucous atmosphere at a packed King Power Stadium was the fizzing, effervescent star of the opening half. An opening gambit was to sell a dummy and shoot – he found only side-netting but City had a warning they failed to heed as, too often, the No 11 was allowed to wreak havoc.
Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph:
There will be days when the Erling Haaland goal machine is fully functional. There will be days when Haaland touches the ball on more than 16 occasions. Alas, for those waiting for this most anticipated of debuts, this was not such a day.
No striker in world football would relish an afternoon in Virgil van Dijk’s company. The Dutchman made it his mission to stalk and stifle his City prey.
When Haaland boarded the City coach after the game, he must have intuitively taken a backward glance to check Van Dijk was not following. If this were not a sporting encounter, the authorities would have issued the Liverpool defender with a restraining order.
Haaland looked utterly miserable as he watched Liverpool claim the first silverware. His time will obviously come. Put this down to teething trouble.
Both these sides look as formidable as ever and there was more than enough on show to suggest the rest still have some catching up to do to change the complexion at the top.
Joe Bernstein for the Daily Mail:
On this pulsating evidence, we’re set for another epic title race - and one that could have a different outcome in May.
Manchester City, champions in four of the last five years, weren’t short of class at the King Power but even their magicians were steamrollered in no uncertain terms by Jurgen Klopp’s trophy machines.
This was the third piece of silverware lifted by Liverpool in 2022 and completed their manager’s collection of domestic prizes.
Yes, the Community Shield is only a seasonal curtain-raiser but the intensity and quality on shown suggests the Merseysiders are going to hit the ground running, starting at Fulham next weekend.
After all the hype surrounding the two new glamour strikers, the competition between them wasn’t even close.
Rich Jolly of the Independent:
Jurgen Klopp may have tried to avoid a striking shootout, an immediate comparison between two attacking signings. He delayed Darwin Nunez’s debut, holding him back while Erling Haaland started for Manchester City.
Yet the Uruguayan ended his Liverpool bow having opened his account, made an explosive impact and won the Community Shield. It was quite a start.
His 40 minutes of menace trumped Haaland’s 90 of impotence, capped by a glaring miss in injury time. He clipped the bar but, with the goal gaping, his 16th touch of the match was his worst.
The Norwegian was upstaged not merely by his Anfield counterpart, but by the other attacker City signed, with Julian Alvarez capping his bow with a predatory goal, and the one Liverpool re-signed, with Mohamed Salah restoring Liverpool’s lead in his first game after agreeing the most lucrative contract in their history.
Ian Doyle from the Liverpool ECHO:
After the questions of recent weeks, Liverpool delivered some compelling answers. But one player in particular will have enjoyed proving a resounding point.
Certainly, the compilation kids who have taken great delight in dismantling Darwin Nunez’s intermittent summer showings since his £64million move from Benfica will have been left twiddling their thumbs after the Uruguayan came off the bench to take the game away from City.
Nunez, introduced shortly before the hour, had already almost removed Ederson’s head with one shot from close range when the hand of Ruben Dias got in the way of a close-range header from Mohamed Salah’s cross, referee Craig Pawson eventually giving the penalty from which Salah thumped home.
Then, four minutes into injury time, Nunez stooped to conquer with another header after Andy Robertson had nodded down Salah’s deep cross with the City defence nowhere.
The sheer delight on the face of the forward and his new team-mates as he raced to the corner flag in front of the jubilant Reds supporters spoke volumes. Nunez, like Liverpool, is up and running.
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