Community Shield Final: The Reds Take Glory

Liverpool vs Manchester City has had a number of classic matches over the last few seasons. The Community Shield final has served as the curtain raiser to the Premier League 22/23 season. A game that its biggest talking point was how the new boys would play, Darwin Nunez for Liverpool and Erling Haaland for Manchester City. So who would deal the first blow? Let’s find out as we review the Community Shield.

The First Half Sees Liverpool Dominate

Liverpool F.C started the first half with an intensity you would associate with a Juergen Klopp team. Mo Salah was absolutely unplayable and you could see how hungry he was with his link-up play with Thiago and Trent Alexander Arnold more or less perfect. Manchester City was being pegged back and looked tired in the first half, if anyone was going to score it looked like it was going to be the Reds.

This came to fruition when a lovely ball from Thiago found Mo Salah who found Trent who curled a beautiful shot into the Man City net giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead in the game. Guardiola would be going into halftime knowing if he wants a result he needs to see a massive improvement from his team.

Manchester City Make A Comeback In The Second Half

Man City came out with a point to prove in the second half and you could see that when they upped the tempo. Haaland was getting more involved and the substitution to bring Alvarez and Foden on was a stroke of class from Pep as sometimes his subs can let him down when it comes to big moments.

Foden and Alvarez linked up well for City’s goal when Foden’s shot was parried by Adrian in the Liverpool goal for an Alvarez tap-in. All of City’s good play would come undone tho thanks to an amazing pass by Trent which lead to Darwin Nunez heading the ball onto Ruben Dias’s hand. A penalty was given, and Mo Salah was never gonna miss making it 2-1 Liverpool and a late 90th minute header from new boy Darwin Nunez handed the community shield to Juergen Klopp and Liverpool for the first time in 16 years.

VAR Decisions Influenced The Game

So with most football games nowadays there’s always VAR controversy. The first bit of controversy is when for Manchester City’s goal it seemed like Adrian had both hands on the ball which should’ve led to a foul. Unfortunately, this was hard to see because of the angles this one can be chalked up to we’ll never know.

The second time VAR got involved is when Ruben Dias handballed the ball in the Man City box which lead to the penalty that coincidentally lead to Liverpool’s second. There was no need for controversy here as Dias did have his arm up beside his head which meant he was already dicing with danger before Nunez headed the ball onto the Manchester City defenders hand.

Darwin Núñez Made An Impact For Liverpool

Darwin Núñez didn’t take long to make an impact in a Liverpool jersey coming on with 20 minutes left in the game. His link-up play with the likes of Salah, Trent, Robertson, and others helped Liverpool kick on and win the Community Shield. He won the penalty that Mo Salah converted and in the 90th minute headed in a beautifully worked goal by Liverpool to get his first competitive goal for the club and won Liverpool’s first Community Shield for 16 years. It doesn’t seem like it will take the Uruguayan long to fit in and if history repeats itself Liverpool could have a serious striker on their hands.

Lace ‘Em Up’s Man Of The Match: Mo Salah

So we talked a lot about Darwin Nunez and his impact, but Mo Salah has to be Man Of The Match on his day the Egyptian megastar is unplayable. His link-up play with Trent, Robertson, Nunez, and others was magical and he played an integral part in all three goals that Liverpool scored even getting one for himself. If the Egyptian plays as he played in the final for Liverpool this season then The Reds will be a team to be feared not only domestically but also in Europe.

Liverpool’s Community Shield Drout Comes To An End

Liverpool was a deserved winner and it’s an amazing start for The Reds off what was an amazing season last year. If The Reds can continue their form going into the season then I don’t know if anyone will be able to beat them and it could be a very successful season for them. As a Liverpool fan myself I’m very excited about the upcoming season and I’m sure it will be full of success.

UP THE REDS.