Leicester (VG) (Liverpool – Manchester City 3-1) The “Egyptian King” Mohamed Salah (30) and billionaire Darwin Nunez (23) won the Community Shield final against Manchester City led by Erling Braut Haaland.
Being a major new attraction in the Premier League, there were huge expectations for Haaland’s first match for champions Manchester City’s possession on English soil. Among the 32,000 spectators at Leicester’s King Power Blue Stadium, several hundred British journalists also sat down and judged the Norwegian’s involvement, but it was their counterpart Darwin Nunez who lived out one of the biggest nights of his career in Haaland’s place.
– I think it’s going to be a fan party now. We are happy to win the title. Hopefully it won’t be the last this season, says Liverpool full back Andrew Robertson on the pitch here in Leicester.
Liverpool, last season’s FA Cup winner, lost the title race by just one point in May, but in the 23-degree Community Shield final on Saturday, Trent Alexander-Arnold turned the red shirts into the lead after just 21 minutes. With a delicate shot through the curls of City goalkeeper Nathan Ake, City’s last defender Ederson saw the ball hit the post before disappearing into the net.
On the other side of the field, Haaland presented his attributes to the crowd for the first time after just 10 minutes. With Liverpool supporting Andrew Robertson in his back, Brian’s man received a cross from teammate Bernardo Silva in a sparkling fashion before finishing hard to the right of Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian in the same sequence.
The performance showed a bit of what lives on in Haaland, but the opposing team’s Spanish goalkeeper blocked the scoring with a reflex.
In the second half, Liverpool deserved to advance after a half as City were passive and collectively struggled to find the right distances for prominent types such as Luis Diaz, Thiago and Mohamed Salah.
In the second half, Halland’s new teammate Julian Alvarez (22) managed to equalize from close range after 73 minutes, but after less than 10 minutes, City captain Robin Dias stopped a header from Darwin Nunez with his hand inside the 16-meter area. After a video review, Salah kicked the ball into the goal from a penalty kick.
In injury time, Nunez substitutes 3-1, igniting the flames of the raucous Liverpool fans. After losing the battle for the prestigious English Cup last season, the Merseyside team has so far won the top spot in 2022/2023.
Today seems to be the most important tournament, but we all know it’s not the biggest in the world, as Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp told Viaplay.
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