Darwin Nunez made an immediate impact for Jurgen Klopp’s players as they won the Community Shield 3-1 against Manchester City ahead of the new Premier League season.
Nunez came off the bench to earn a penalty and score his first goal since joining City for $AUD109 million from Benfica in the community shield, while Erling Haaland had a nightmare debut.
Liverpool took a deserved halftime lead in Leicester thanks to Trent Alexander-stunning Arnold’s shot at community shield.
But it was City’s other new attacker, Julian Alvarez, who got Pep Guardiola’s team back into the game after the interval.
Liverpool’s community shield victory
Liverpool’s second significant summer transaction was the signing of Mohamed Salah to a new three-year contract, and the Egyptian proved lethal from the spot after Ruben Dias handled Nunez’s header.
The Uruguayan then had his own moment of glory, stooping to head home in stoppage time and ripping off his shirt in jubilation.
Liverpool won the customary season opener for the first time since 2006, putting down an early flag in what is likely to be another struggle for the Premier League crown.
In a thrilling season finale, City beat Liverpool by a point to win the Premier League for the fourth time in five years.
Guardiola’s side had to come from 2-0 down to overcome Aston Villa on the penultimate day of the season, and they were once again guilty of a poor start.
Salah set up the first goal, laying Thiago Alcantara’s cross-field pass back to the outside of the box, where Alexander-Arnold hammered in off the post with a tiny deflection from Dias.
City had only played two pre-season friendly compared to Liverpool’s four, and it took them half an hour to find their feet.
With his first shot on goal, Haaland was stopped by Liverpool’s stand-in goalkeeper Adrian.
The Norwegian, on the other hand, could have opened his City account seconds later after failing to connect with Joao Cancelo’s enticing cross.
On the hour mark, Nunez was given his time to shine, but he blew his first major chance when Ederson won a one-on-one.
At the other end, City’s new South American striker also got his career in England off to a flying start.
In the midst of the excitement surrounding Haaland, Alvarez’s arrival at the Etihad has gone unnoticed.
However, the Argentine is recognised as one of the world’s most exciting young attackers, having scored six goals in one Copa Libertadores encounter in May.
Following Adrian stopped Phil Foden’s original shot, Alvarez was the first to react to the rebound, and the goal remained after a VAR review for offside.
It took another VAR intervention for Liverpool to reclaim their advantage seven minutes from time.
Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot after watching a replay of Nunez’s header rebounding off Dias’s arm.
Despite Ederson going the correct way, Salah was as lethal as ever from 12 yards, drilling into the bottom corner.
Nunez then put an end to any doubts about the outcome when he pounced on Andy Robertson’s header across goal.
But City’s bad day didn’t end there as they failed to win the community shield victory, as Haaland struck the crossbar with the goal gaping deep in stoppage time, keeping the Norwegian superstar waiting to make his debut in English football.
