The rest of the Premier League take note: Liverpool may have spent almost £300m on new players this summer but that doesn’t make them unbeatable.
Goals from Hugo Ekitiké and Jeremie Frimpong and an impressive performance from Florian Wirtz had looked like being enough to seal a narrow victory over Crystal Palace in the Community Shield as Arne Slot’s summer signings made an instant impact for the reigning Premier League champions. But even with the possibility that they could still add Alexander Isak to the array of attacking talent already on the books, Oliver Glasner’s well-drilled side showed that their new-look defence is fallible and Palace deserved to take this game to penalties after an equalising for the second time of the afternoon thanks to Ismaïla Sarr.
It was left to the substitute Justin Devenny to seal victory for the south London club after Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott all missed in the shootout. For the FA Cup winners, who contested this occasion for the first time in their history, it was another moment to savour as they await the outcome of their appeal to the court of arbitration for sport against their demotion from the Europa League, which is due to be announced on Monday. But having seen Frimpong and fellow new signing Milos Kerkez struggle to contain Sarr and the outstanding Eberechi Eze at times, Liverpool may decide to step up their attempts to sign the Palace captain, Marc Guéhi, who left the field with cramp after another all-action display.
It has been a summer of contrasts for these two clubs since they gave each other a guard of honour at Anfield back in May. While Slot was able to name Ekitiké, Frimpong, Kerkez and Wirtz, whose fee could end up being record £116m, in his starting lineup, Glasner selected the same side that started against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Plans for a repeat of the fantastic tifos that supporters’ group the Holmesdale Fanatics produced for the wins over City and Aston Villa in the semi-final had to be shelved due to new strict Wembley regulations. But there was still a sense of anticipation among those who made the journey from south London for the third time in three months. Liverpool’s fans behind the goal unveiled a banner in tribute to Diogo Jota before kick-off, with both teams observing a minute’s silence to the Portugal forward and his brother, André, that was interrupted by a small section in the Palace end.
Slot had confirmed that Ryan Gravenberch was unavailable after his partner gave birth on Saturday night, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones anchoring midfield. It didn’t take long for Liverpool’s new boys to make an impression as Wirtz and Ekitiké exchanged a one-two on the left-hand side of the Palace penalty area in the fourth minute before the Frenchman fired past Dean Henderson. Another clever touch from Ekitiké to play in Salah set up another golden chance for Cody Gakpo, only for the Palace goalkeeper and the assistant’s flag to deny Liverpool a second.
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But Palace have shown they are a match for most and they responded immediately after Jean-Philippe Mateta found himself through on goal. He could not take the opportunity as Alisson spread himself but, a few seconds later, Virgil van Dijk was slow in spotting the danger from Sarr and the referee Chris Kavanagh had no option but to point to the penalty spot when the Dutchman mistimed his tackle inside the area. This time, Mateta made no mistake.
Having looked vulnerable against Eze in defence, like his predecessor Trent Alexander-Arnold, Frimpong is far more comfortable in attack. But he was attempting to pick out Ekitiké at the back post when his cross looped over Henderson and in off the far post. Palace’s misfortune continued when Daichi Kamada was forced off due to an injury on the half hour mark, with his replacement, Will Hughes, failing to direct a volley on target just after coming on.
Etikité spurned a brilliant opportunity to extend Liverpool’s lead at the start of the second half when he headed a Kerkez cross wide with the goal gaping. The Hungary left-back, who was signed from Bournemouth for £40m, looked assured going forward and another excellent cross picked out Ekitiké, only for him to miss the target again.
It was Sarr’s turn to have his head in his hands after he was inches away from connecting with Mateta’s flick on at the back post. Palace were growing in confidence as their fans voiced their opposition to Uefa’s decision to demote them from the Europa League. Chris Richards tested Alisson from a corner before Eze drew an excellent save from the Liverpool goalkeeper at his near post after being played in by Adam Wharton.
Liverpool seemed to have weathered the storm but a lapse in concentration from Kerkez 13 minute from time allowed Wharton to play in Sarr and his finish went in off the post. Had it not been for Kerkez’s late intervention, he could have settled it moments later but the Liverpool defender was able to deflect his shot over the bar. Salah finally had his first sight goal with eight minutes to play yet the Egyptian could only fire straight at Henderson, while Devenny was almost Palace’s hero in the last minute before the Northern Ireland international kept his cool from the spot after Borna Sosa had missed a chance to win the shootout.
