Pep Guardiola bigs up Manchester United ...
Jonathan Wilson’s match analysis:
Here’s Ed Aarons’ player ratings:
So there we are: the annual curtain has been traditionally raised, and Liverpool and Man City are still pretty good. I’ve not a clue how we’ve got here but we’re here, so join us next weekend when the fun and frolics begin in earnest. Ta-ra.
Here’s Paul Doyle’s match report...
Aguero joins him, and the tickertape descends, somewhat apologetically. The players bounce about a bit and do all the usual.
Claudio Bravo looks happy after proving the old truism that dodgy keepers save penalties. Leroy Sane is there too, while David Silva prepares to lift the trophy.
Here come City to collect the famous old frisbee. Ilkay Gundogan leads them up, and Kyle Walker is in absolute floods of tears.
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Steve McManaman wonders why Liverpool haven’t strengthened their attack, because their front three have played long seasons and can’t be expected to stay fit.
Up go Liverpool to get their losers’ medals, in front of roughly 28 people.
Robin van Persie is impressed with how Liverpool fought back following City’s strong first half. Rio Ferdinand is concerned about how Liverpool’s back four, one of the fastest in the league, played offside with such a high line. He reckons they should be chasing back.
He’s not sure that it’ll be a two-horse race for the league, though, because there are other good teams about.
“For me growing up the Community Shield was a big one,” says Kyle Walker. He really does; you and David Moyes baith, old mate.
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Kevin de Bruyne, who has the bumfluffiest beard ever, says it was a really tough game and the openness tells you that the teams aren’t ready to go yet.
Liverpool will be pretty happy with that. You’d have expected City to be a little ahead of them given the respective pre-seasons, but both look ready to go.
MANCHESTER CITY WIN THE COMMUNITY SHIELD!
Jesus scores! Liverpool 4-5 Manchester City
Jesus places the ball to his left, and though Alisson went the right way he couldn’t get there.
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Salah scores! Liverpool 4-4 Manchester City
Salah scores, curling it high to his left. But City are at match point, and Gabriel Jesus is walking forward.
Zinchenko scores! Liverpool 3-4 Manchester City
Alisson got hands on it, diving to his left, but it went through him and into the net.
Oxlade-Chamberlain scores! Liverpool 3-3 Manchester City
Excellent stuff, hammered high to his left. Bravo went the wrong way.
Foden scores! Liverpool 2-3 Manchester City
A confident penalty, whipped to his right as Alisson dives the wrong way.
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Lallana scores! Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
A good penalty, dragged carefully towards the bottom-left corner.
Bernardo Silva scores! Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City
Another good penalty, hammered into the bottom-right corner.
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Bravo saves from Wijnaldum! Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
A poor penalty, too close to Bravo, who dived to his right and punched it away.
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Gundogan scores! Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
He’s scored a penalty on this ground in a Champions League final, so the pressure of the Community Shield was never likely to get to him.
Shaqiri scores! Liverpool 1-0 Manchester City
Good penalty, whacked to his right.
Liverpool will take the first penalty, Xherdan Shaqiri to be precise.
That was a cracking game, far more competitive than most Community Shields. City were the better team in the first half, but Liverpool ran them ragged in the second half and fully deserved Joel Matip’s equaliser.
Full time: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City
Penalties it is.
90+4 min Bravo makes another good save, this time at his near post from Shaqiri. Liverpool have battered City in the second half.
90+3 min: Walker clears off the line from Salah! That was a brilliant, acrobatic piece of defending, a scissor-kick to clear off his own line after Salah headed the ball gently towards goal. His first shot was blocked by Stones, slidingin front of Bravo. The ball came back to Salah, who headed past Bravo towards the empty net. But Walker put on the afterburners to get back and clear spectacularly.
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90+2 min Sterling makes a good run round the outside of the Liverpool defence, but his deflected cross is cleared by Gomez in the six-yard box.
90 min There will be four minutes of added time.
88 min Phil Foden comes on for City to replace Kevin De Bruyne.
87 min: Bravo makes a fine save from Salah! Rodri was robbed 20 yards from his own goal by a combination of Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain. The ball ran through to Salah, whose first-time shot on the turn was superbly blocked at close range by the outrushing Bravo.
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87 min Salah shoots straight at Bravo from 20 yards. He should have played Keita in that time. There’s an argument that Salah, for richer and poorer, is the most selfish player in world football at the moment.
85 min Salah cuts infield and has a pop from 20 yards. It hits Zinchenko and loops onto the roof of the net. Liverpool have been so good int he second half, because they were a mess in the first. This team, like all Jurgen Klopp’s I suppose, are a great advert for the human spirit.
83 min Bravo makes an important save from Keita. Lallana picked him out nicely on the edge of the box, and Keita sidefooted a first-time shot that was palmed away by Bravo as he dived to his left. Keita might have done better, on reflection.
80 min If this match ends in a draw it will go straight to penalties.
79 min A triple change for Liverpool: Shaqiri, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lallana replace Firmino, Henderson and Origi.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City (Matip 77)
A deserved equaliser for Liverpool! Henderson’s free-kick from a narrow position on the right skimmed off the head of somebody in the middle and came to Van Dijk beyond the far post. He lobbed it calmly back into the six-yard box, where Matip beat Bravo with a precise downward header.
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75 min This is much more like the 2018-19 Liverpool. In fact I can’t remember the last time I saw Manchester City have so little of the ball in a 20- or 30-minute period.
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73 min De Bruyne screws a low shot from the left of the box that is comfortbaly held by the diving Alisson.
71 min The last man Otamendi makes a vital, lunging tackle on Salah, who tried to nutmeg him on the edge of the box. Salah has looked so sharp, even if his decision-making hasn’t always been the best.
70 min “Your Manchester City bias is embarrassing,” says Carl Colley. “From your profile picture you’re clearly too fat and old to be on work experience... are you related to the editor? I’m sure Mummy & Daddy can get you another job when this one goes tits up.”
They’re dead, but I appreciate the career encouragement.
69 min “Maybe the Guardian liveblogs need some real, bubbling, needly hate, too,” says Matt Dony, “in order to bring the best out of all of us. You absolute third-rate hack.”
67 min A double bowling change for Liverpool: Joel Matip and Naby Keita replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho.
65 min Liverpool have pegged City back in the last 10 minutes. The game feels like it’s about to boil over, with lots of niggly tackles and shoves off the ball. It’s not exactly Chelsea v Leeds in the 1970 FA Cup final, but by the standards of modern football it’s quite lively.
61 min Sterling misses a great chance to make it 2-0. He was put through on goal by Walker, with all the time in the world to decide what to do. Too much time. He couldn’t decide whether to shoot or give the goal to Walker; in the end he did neither and ran the ball straight into the loving arms of Alisson.
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61 min Ilkay Gundogan replaces David Silva. There was a VAR check a moment ago after a clash between Alexander-Arnold and Bernardo Silva, but there was nothing much in it and Martin Atkinson was not encouraged to take another look.
60 min “So Peter Oh thought City were OK when we were rubbish,” says Paul Ruffley. “Bless.”
58 min: Salah hits the post! That was a fine effort. He wriggled away from a couple of City players on the edge of the area and drove a low, left-footed shot through the legs of David Silva. Bravo was slightly unsighted and the ball rebounded off the outside of the post.
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57 min: Van Dijk hits the underside of the bar! Alexander-Arnold’s scruffy corner from the left bounced past everyone at the near post and was hooked towards goal by Van Dijk. It beat Bravo, rebounded off the underside of the bar and bounced down onto the line. Van Dijk thought it was in; goal-line technology confirmed it was not.
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51 min Liverpool look really rusty. That doesn’t matter one iota today, but it will if they get off to a slow start in the Premier League. One thing Liverpool have never done since 1990 is have back-to-back title challenges. In fact, the last two times they almost won the league, they started the next season so poorly that they were out of the title race by October. Although I don’t expect that to happen this year, they won’t want to fall too far behind City, who will probably win at least eight of their first 10 games.
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48 min Sterling hits the post, although the flag had gone up anyway.
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48 min “As a person who has directly witnessed the hatred which comprises an intense sporting rivalry (i.e. India v Pakistan in cricket) like you demand English football needs more of, let me tell you that while it makes for riveting encounters and atmospheres, the vile comments, physical fights and detestable actions from both sides behind the scenes is never worth it just for spectacle,” says Abhijato Sensarma.
I wouldn’t disagree with that at all – I was talking solely about the on-field scenes, not what happens behind them. Rivalries, often fuelled by hate (not just my word but the one used by those involved), have produced some of the most compelling sport we’ve ever seen. That’s an immutable truth of competitive sport.
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47 min Good play from City. The superb Sterling robs Alexander-Arnold and zips down the left before crossing into the area. Jesus touches/miscontrolls it into the path of David Silva, who thrashes a half-volley over the bar from 15 yards.
46 min Peep peep!
“Re: City’s oh-so-stylish, sponsorless kit,” begins Peter Oh. “If you ask me, the last time City were a palatable club was when their shirt featured the name of a fraternally named office supply manufacturer. I once owned one of their typewriters.”
Oh, Brother. Or perhaps I should say: Brother, Oh?
Half time: Liverpool 0-1 Manchester City
Peep peep! City lead through Raheem Sterling’s early goal, which was both well-worked and scruffy. They have been much the better team in general play - but Liverpool have created three good chances of their own, all falling to Mo Salah.
Pep Guardiola walks off with the air of a man who’s just put the winning lottery ticket on a spin cycle. Not sure what’s up with him but he looks pretty despondent. See you in 10 minutes for the second half!
45 min “You state in the preamble that English football needs hate,” says Stevie Robertson. “Really? I get you want rivalry but ‘hate’? You’re better than that.”
I’m really not. I know what you mean - but, put simply, the best football I’ve seen was the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United from 1996-2005, and that was overflowing with hatred. And as well as giving the games a competitive edge that made them unmissable, that hatred drove both teams to play football of rare brilliance. It’s a win-win, at least for me. Three things make great sport: intensity, quality and drama. And a bit of mutual loathing is usually good for all three.
43 min This is getting a bit niggly. Bernardo Silva shoves Origi over by the corner flag and is penalised. Alexander-Arnold’s deep free-kick is headed back across goal and claimed comfortably by Bravo.
42 min Guardiola is booked for his protests. I didn’t know you could book managers. Even by his standards, Pep seems a little taut at the moment. A 10-point lead by November might calm him down.
40 min David Silva receives treatment after kicking the underside of Gomez’s foot. Pep Guardiola is fuming and takes it out on the fourth official. I’m not sure what he’s talking about, in truth - they both went for a high ball and Gomez got there just before Silva.
39 min A lovely through ball from Stones finds De Bruyne, who is just offside.
36 min A bit of a quiet period in the game. The only new boy, Rodri, has looked comfortable without doing anything eye-catching. That’s not really his game.
33 min De Bruyne is booked for a naughty trip on Origi.
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32 min This has been a very open, enjoyable game. All it’s missing is a bit of unnecessary needle.
29 min Salah completes a hat-trick of missed chances, flicking over the bar with the outside of his left foot after a poor header from Zinchenko. He could have played it square to Firmino, but I wouldn’t be too critical: he suffers from a rare medical conditions which means he loses all peripheral vision every time he enters the penalty area.
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27 min This is a better spell for Liverpool, who are enjoying some leisurely possession for the first time in the game.
“Man City are on their way to turning into a ruthless championship-winning machine, if they already aren’t there,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “I just can’t see them losing even on days they’re ‘decent’, because simple decency for them exists on another plane compared to the rest out there. Going by their quality and their performances, are they the best team in the world at the moment?”
Depends which team you mean. I think Domestic City are the best in the world; European City are not.
25 min “So, not content with having the most stylish team and manager in the league, City also now have the most stylish kit in the Premier,” says Michael Jenkins. “They really don’t want to leave even crumbs for the rest, do they?”
22 min Salah and Firmino have looked really lively. Liverpool’s problem is in midfield, where they are being outplayed.
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20 min “Personally I think Liverpool punched well over their weight last year,” says Andrew Lingard. “I reckon City will run away with it this year.”
That wouldn’t shock me. City are almost nailed on to get at least 90 points; the imponderable is whether Liverpool can indeed go again.
17 min Good save from Alisson! Gabriel Jesus played a nice through ball to De Bruyne, who was trying to get the ball out of his feet when Robertson made a good challenge from the side. The ball ran along the area to Sterling, whose first-time shot towards the near post was beaten away by the sprawling Alisson.
15 min This is great fun. Salah scorches away from Zinchenko on the right, cuts into the box and whips a shot that hits the outside of the near post. Bravo had it covered but it was a blistering run from Salah.
14 min City look much sharper than Liverpool at the moment. Given Liverpool’s lamentable pre-season form, I think we have to ask an uncomfortable question: has Jurgen Klopp taken this side as far as he can?
13 min Gabriel Jesus replaces Leroy Sane. Liverpool’s defenders were half asleep for that goal, while Alisson will also be a bit annoyed that Sterling’s shot wriggled past him.
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GOAL! Liverpool 0-1 Manchester City (Sterling 12)
Raheem Sterling puts City ahead. It came from a neat free-kick by City. The ball was played short to Walker, who curled it over the top to find Zinchenko on the left of the area. He headed it back across goal, David Silva helped it on at the near post and Sterling sidefooted a volley through Alisson from six yards.
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11 min “What happened to Man City’s shirt sponsors?” says Manoj Narayan. “Is their lack of advertising on the shirt a temporary arrangement or will we see it for the whole year?”
It’$ a one-off. Looks great, though.
10 min Sane is struggling here. He landed awkwardly after being fouled by Alexander-Arnold, and I don’t think he’ll be able to continue. That will be a relief to Alexander-Arnold, who was starting to get a bit of a chasing.
8 min Salah misses an excellent chance, sidefooting wide from 10 yards after more smart work from Firmino. Salah took it first time, which is why he dragged it past the near post.
6 min Lovely play from Firmino. He flies through the air to control the ball at neck height before moving it back onto his left foot and swishing a shot from the edge of the area that is patted down by Bravo.
4 min A half-chance for City. Sterling nicks the ball off Gomez, 30 yards from goal, and plays in Sane on the left side of the box. He gallops past Alexander-Arnold before crashing the ball into the side netting from a tight angle.
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3 min Rodri has had a couple of early touches, simple one-touch passes that Spanish holding midfielders play so well.
1 min John Stones, who was last seen having a stinker for England in Portugal, is pressed in his own six-yard box by Origi and Firmino, but calmly passes the ball between them to find Kevin De Bruyne. Takes moxie, that.
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1 min Peep peep! Liverpool raise the curtain, kicking from right to left. They are in red; City are wearing their very smart 125th-anniversary kit.
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After the usual performance of the national anthem, booed as always by the Liverpool fans, the players shake hands and take their positions.
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“So, Claudio Bravo in goal,” says Robert Hisnay. “And Phil Foden on the bench. Thoughts?”
Ederson was never going to start, and David Silva is ahead of Foden, no? It’s an important season for Foden, though. He needs more than three Premier League starts.
There’s plenty of other live sport going on, if you’re into all that
It’s not exactly the Audi Cup, to be fair
Some pre-match reading
Team news
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Origi.
Substitutes: Mignolet, Lovren, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Shaqiri, Matip.
Manchester City (4-1-2-3) Bravo; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko; Rodri; De Bruyne, D Silva; B Silva, Sterling, Sane.
Substitutes: Ederson, Gundogan, Jesus, Aguero, Angelino, Foden, E Garcia.
Preamble
Hello. The Premier League is the richest and most popular league in the world. But there’s one thing money can’t buy: hate. English football has not had a classic rivalry since Arsenal and Manchester United’s mutual enmity fizzled out in 2005. And although we’re unlikely to see a decade-long feud like that again, there is a real chance that, for the next few years, Liverpool and Manchester City could provide the kind of rivalry that elevates sport to the highest possible level.
The signs are good. They are the champions of Europe and England respectively, and arguably the two best teams in the world. They have already taken part in an extraordinary title race, not to mention an immense, intense Champions League quarter-final, and are likely to form their own mini-league again this season. Today they meet in the Community Shield, the match all journalists are contractually obliged to describe as the curtain-raiser for a new season. And although the game means nothing, it might tell us something about the relationship between the sides.
When their rivalry was at its peak, Arsenal and United usually turned this match into a pre-season unfriendly. Football has changed since Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira compared testosterone levels, and the burgeoning rivalry between City and Liverpool has been defined as much as anything by mutual respect. But things might be about to get a little saltier.
There was some needle in City’s vital league win at the Etihad in January, and there have been a few words in the build-up to this game. Anfield will not want for atmosphere when City visit in November. And if it all kicks off today, we’ll know something special is brewing.
Kick off is at 3pm.
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