Liverpool vs Man City: Gabriel Jesus penalty settles absorbing Community Shield - 5 things we learned
Liverpool 1-1 (4-5 on penalties) Man City: Joel Matip cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s opener before Gini Wijnaldum’s missed penalty handed Jesus the chance to win it on spot kicks
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Your support makes all the difference.Gabriel Jesus clinched the Community Shield for Man City over Liverpool in a penalty shoot-out to settle a thrilling game at Wembley.
The reigning Premier League champions' alertness gifted them the opener against the European champions after a quick free-kick found Kyle Walker in space, who lofted the ball to Kevin De Bruyne at the back post, the Belgian squared it to David Silva, who flicked it on to Raheem Sterling to bundle home.
Liverpool responded well in the second half with Virgil van Dijk’s flicked finish beating Claudio Bravo but rebounding off the underside of the bar and falling half a ball’s width short of crossing the line.
Mohamed Salah’s twinkle toes then worked space on the edge of the area and his shot cannoned off the near post.
Sterling then raced clear on goal after a mix-up at the back for Liverpool as the game caught fire, yet he appeared confused by Kyle Walker’s emergence down the left and neither passed or shot, allowing Alisson to gather.
City’s profligacy proved costly when substitute Joel Matip leaped high to convert Van Dijk’s square ball and Salah almost won it stoppage time; denied first by Bravo and then Kyle Walker’s clearance off the line.
Gini Wijnaldum was denied by Bravo in the shoot-out and City remained perfect throughout as Jesus held his nerve to secure victory 5-4 on penalties.
Here are five things we learned from Wembley:
Sane injury adds more mystery ahead of deadline
Leroy Sane appeared bright and threatening in his 13-minute cameo at Wembley, utilising his searing pace as Guardiola settled on Sterling occupying the No 9 role.
Liverpool struggled to cope with his and the England forward’s link-up play, with both gambling each time the other pressed in expectation, rather than hope, of the Reds coughing up possession.
Bayern Munich’s persistence has provoked City and their hesitation to sell appears to be the doubt over how much consistency Guardiola can abstract from the German and the inability to passively wait for him to discover it.
The severity of Sane’s knock may be telling for now, especially as the starting front three could be something worth pursuing more moving forward, yet the story is evidently unsettling for Guardiola moving forward.
Gomez passes up chance
Gomez’s presence in the Liverpool line-up raised some eyebrows after Joel Matip’s excellence on the road to Madrid last term, yet the English centre-back started last season impressively and looked to have been handed the keys to do so once again.
But heavy feet early on here saw Raheem Sterling pinch possession and race through on goal, only for Leroy Sane to spurn the chance to punish him.
The lack of balance appeared to unsettle Virgil Van Dijk, who appeared unsure about the spacing between himself and Andrew Robertson: an area City gleefully exposed in the first half.
Gomez also appeared to struggle imposing his authority, hesitating somewhat when bolting from the back to intercept loose balls. He took the ball but left a mark on David Silva to rile Guardiola on the sideline.
Matip’s second-half emergence, shifting Gomez to right-back, a position he is yet to master, demonstrates the dilemma for Klopp ahead of their opener against Norwich. Not only did Van Dijk and Matip’s connection at the back instil greater stability, it earned the equaliser.
Rodri slots straight in
Liverpool’s initial high press saw them set up a fence surrounding City’s new record signing, preventing him from receiving the easy out ball that both he and Claudio Bravo, deputising for Ederson, craved so much to settle any nerves.
The £63m midfielder appeared flustered when the Chilean eventually threaded the ball into his feet with Roberto Firmino hassling him off the ball. Yet from there after, Rodri oozed class, revelling in the comfort of sweeping the ball out to City’s full-backs or surrendering possession when Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva dropped to create a flatter midfield trident.
Rodri’s toughest test will come when City are chasing games and box in opponents, putting more emphasis on his ability to recycle the ball quicker. And there will be concern that City were unable to stem the tide when Liverpool did get on top in the second half. The former Atletico star’s role and suitability in the immediately future could provide a glimpse at the potential for this City side to raise the bar once again.
De Bruyne primed for bounceback
The Belgian is bouncing back from an injury-hit season that saw him miss 30 games: almost half of City’s 61-game marathon campaign.
But there are promising signs the Belgian may rekindle the form that saw him narrowly beaten by Mohamed Salah, to Pep Guardiola’s irritation, to PFA Player of the Year as City shattered the 100-point barrier.
This was the buccaneering De Bruyne we saw before injuries broke up his swagger; relishing his higher position with Rodri anchoring the midfield and darting inside and outside of Andrew Robertson with the assistance of City’s geometric passing.
De Bruyne’s instinct is one of his greatest gifts and now fully fit his freedom to roam all over the pitch gives City another dimension: sneaking around the back of the right side of Liverpool’s defence for Sterling’s opener provided evidence of this.
On this evidence he appears the frontrunner for the PFA Player of the Year.
Which Salah will we see this season?
Salah enters an intriguing third season with the Reds off the back of a 27-goal effort last term, which would usually have been hailed as an outlier for a wide player. Yet, given after witnessing his 44-goal debut season, we know the Egyptian is capable of more.
The magnetism of Salah and the chances that fall his way through his speed and movement make it entirely possible he improves.
Yet on a sweltering afternoon at Wembley, Salah snatched at three excellent opportunities early on, two of which he was afford time and space. Salah then took aim from distance in the second half, dragging most of his chances towards the near post, one of which cannoned off the post.
With a total of 10 shots at goal (only four of which hit the target), including two golden chances to win it in injury time, show the potential is there for a repeat of his debut season, yet his composure must return for Klopp’s side to finally overhaul City in the league.
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