What a game for a glorified preseason friendly. Liverpool has defeated Man City in a game where the Citizens had nearly 60% possession and 3 more shots on target. I guess this is just another Pep masterclass in chocking away would-be wins.
I was confident early on that Manchester City was going to destroy Liverpool with all the possession and shots they had, but somehow Liverpool held onto their lead. Though, it certainly wasn’t easy.
Much of this game was dictated by Manchester City’s midfield and defense keeping possession and delivering pinpoint passes and crosses that often-tested Liverpool’s defensive resolve. That should be no surprise as Manchester City live and die by Pep’s revolutionary possession-based style of attack. What also shouldn’t be a surprise is the amount of chances Manchester City’s forwards missed.
I’d have bet all my life savings (which is $0, but that’s not the point) that new signing Erling Haaland was the man to solve Man City’s “big game” goal-scoring woes. Yet, he now seems to be inflicted by the City scoring curse too. Haaland had two HUGE chances to score the opening goal in the first half, but squander each as he refused to shoot with his off foot.
These missed opportunities allowed Liverpool to weather out the early City attacks and get the crucial first goal through a deflected Trent Alexander-Arnold strike. There really wasn’t much Ederson could have done about the shot as the ball whacked off Nathan Ake’s head and redirected past Ederson’s reach.
Anyway, the game was still close and looked to be going to a penalty shootout once Man City’s other new signing, Julian Alverez, tapped home a muffed clearance from Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Adrian. Well, I can’t really say that it was a “muffed clearance” as Phil Foden did knock the ball out of Adrian’s hands, which the referee somehow didn’t see. (I’m sure every Liverpool fan is glad to see VAR is up to its old tricks)
Yet, on the 83rd minute mark, Ruben Dias’ questionable handball (VAR really was awful today) gave Mo Salah the chance to put Liverpool back up with a penalty shot.
And he did, securing the Community Shield victory for Liverpool over Pep’s disgruntled Manchester City. The 3-1 (Darwin Nunez headed in a late 3rd on the counterattack) score line flattered Liverpool as this game really should have gone to penalties. Two bad VAR calls and three misses from Haaland (he missed an absolute sitter right as the game ended) completely changed the game.
The loss of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus may be a little more impactful than I originally thought. With those two in the team, there was a natural flow and grace to City’s attack. However, with Haaland and Alavarez, they seemed somewhat out of sync with the rest of the team. This will probably be resolved as the season goes on, but their lack of chemistry with City’s regulars cost the Citizens today.
As for Liverpool, they got very lucky. Manchester City, again, had trouble with scoring their clear-cut chances that should have taken the game beyond Liverpool’s reach. But they didn’t and Liverpool’s title winning defense held on for yet another trophy win.
Moreover, Darwin Nunez (Liverpool’s record signing) suffered from the same cohesive issues as Haaland and Alvarez did with City. All three of these players should come around and start firing on all cylinders sooner rather than later, but it will take more time and experience playing with their respective clubs.
Another trophy final, and another heavyweight clash between Liverpool and Manchester City. Are we going to see these two giants duke it out for Premier League title for a fifth straight year? Unfortunately for every other club, I can’t see any of them breaking up City or Liverpool’s dominance. So, yes, we will.
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