Liverpool defeated Manchester City to lift the 2022 Community Shield title at King Power Stadium.

Here is the result, post-match report and live commentary of the Liverpool vs Man City 2022 Community shield match that was played at King Power Stadium.

The 2022 Community Shield was expected to be a story about two new attackers, and that, it presented, with Liverpool defeating Manchester City to fulfill Jurgen Klopp’s trophy collection of all the league’s domestic titles.

Darwin Nunez was brought off the bench in the second to help the Reds clinch a 3-1 triumph at Leicester. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland found it difficult to find his stride in his challenging debut game at City.

In the yearly Community clash between the Premier League champions and FA Cup holders, Liverpool started strongly, with star man Mo Salah and skipper Jordan Henderson both finding lots of good space down their right wing.

The Reds scored through Trent Alexander-Arnold in a first half that was obviously full of handling errors, poor touches, and mild lapses in build-up and concentration. With his effort curling outwards onto the back post and in, he gave Liverpool a well-deserved lead in the 21st minute. The ball was slightly deflected by Nathan Ake’s header, but the goal was primarily due to Alexander-Arnold and assisted by the Egyptian king Mohamed Salah, who was given quite too much space to maneuver and operate.

City however got possession of the ball after the goal and subsequently got an equalizer early in the second half, with Argentinian Julian Alvarez scoring his first goal for City. Adrian batted away Phil Foden’s first-time attempt to Alvarez, who did no mistake to send the rebound straight into the back of the net with 20 minutes left to the end of the game. Although the goal was ruled out as offside initially after a thorough review by VAR, it was overturned and counted as a goal.  

Even with a short-lived comeback from Pep Guardiola’s men, who tried to turn to turn the game to their favour, Liverpool regained control sooner than expected. In the 83rd minute,  Nunez’s header touched the hand of Ruben Dias, prompting VAR to award the penalty kick. Salah took a step forward and shot low to Ederson’s left.

Nunez’s head also played another crucial role, when he bowed low to nod in the curtain-raiser in a grand style. The Uruguayan forward had been booed to the rooftops all afternoon, and he reveled in his special moment with fans, by pulling off his shirt off in for the late goal. 

Read also:

• Celtic vs Aberdeen August 2022: Match Preview, Lineup, and best Predictions
• RB Leipzig vs Bayern Munich Supercup 2022 Preview, Team news, and Best Prediction
• Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt 2022 UEFA Super Cup: All you need to know

Jurgen Klopp has Won all trophies in the Premier League

Interestingly, Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp has now won all domestic trophies in the English Premier League. The German lifted the Community Shield after trying out for the third time, after losing to Arsenal and Man City on penalties in previous encounters.

It can be recalled that Guardiola narrowly survived a hard chase by Klopp to lift the Premier League title with a singly point gap that saw the two managers slug it out until the final day fixture. Also, the victory is very special to Klopp who has not defeated Guardiola’s men in the past five premier league encounters against the Cityzens.

Haaland struggles on debut 

Haaland, the barely 22-year-old forward whose physical appearance will terrify many a center-back this season, was the focus of all eyes. Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, on the other hand, were unafraid in Leicester.

He could be the deciding factor in a title race that will almost certainly be decided by the tiniest of margins, but Haaland will need time. This isn’t a case of throwing a hulking striker into a system designed for a true No.9. Understandably, the Norwegian appeared to be struggling to grasp Guardiola’s system.

He was unsure either to remain or go at times, with De Bruyne plainly frustrated on one occasion. Haaland was caught in between the devil and the deep blue sea and was unable to make an impact against Liverpool’s defense.

He brushed aside Henderson and Andy Robertson with ease at two points. But, like Jack Grealish, who struggled this evening, and Riyad Mahrez, he has a long way to go in terms of motion and understanding.

In the first period, he had one shot saved by Adrian, spinning a left-footed attempt on goal after overpowering Robertson. He then snatched at a mid-air cross shortly afterward, squandering a golden opportunity just before halftime.

Just after break, he once again struggled to get into the game, and was outplayed by substitutes Foden and Alvarez. His one big chance came in stoppage time, and while it wouldn’t have changed the outcome, it failed to convert it, as his shot hit the cross-bar and went overboard.

Although it would not have covered up the fundamental problem or significantly improved performance, the mood could have been altered. The ball fell to Haaland with the goal gaping, with Adrian already on the ground after saving a Foden effort. The former Borussia Dortmund player couldn’t keep his effort down, hitting the bar and being met with rowdy loud cheers from the Merseyside crowd.

Guardiola played down any concerns in his post-match press conference, with the faint sound of Liverpool players shouting “ole” and banging makeshift drums a few rooms down: “He had chances. He had a lot of fights. He moved around.

“It’s beneficial for him to comprehend, to see the real situation of a new country.” He is of superb quality. He’ll do it. He has a fantastic mentality and agiliyy.. He’ll be of great assistance to us. He was there; he had the opportunities.”

Thiago is up to speed while Liverpool dominates on right

Thiago Alcantara is an excellent footballer. Yes, it’s self-evident. Yes, it is treated with disdain on social media by those who assume he is “overrated.” But he’s a lot of fun to watch.

In a fairly short preseason tour, it was completely predictable that this game would feature players who were slightly off the pace, but Thiago appeared to be in midseason form. Due to his poor injury record, Liverpool may only get him for half of the games, but those games will be full of mesmerizing ball control. Given the fitness concerns, it’s a huge and unexpected boost for Klopp that the Spain international is already looking up to the level.

He made some beautiful first-time passes, including one in the buildup to Alexander-goal. Arnold’s Thiago looked exceptional, whether it was stretching the play, keeping the ball moving in a very tight space, or driving forward by finding gaps where no one else did. The loudest applause, of course, came when he helped out defensively, specifically by barging Kyle Walker to keep possession.

Thiago occupied the midfield, with City looking uncordinated in that area despite having played two fewer preseason games than Liverpool. Worryingly, the Reds made hay down their left flank for the entire 90 minutes.

The trio of Grealish, Rodri, and Cancelo struggled to keep up. Cancelo, in particular, was caught out of position severally, leading to a number Liverpool opportunities. With the No.7 on his back, he just seems to take his area of operation too simply. A few balls bouncing off him into touch summed up the Portuguese’s forgettable season opener.

He could be partially excused because he was up against a terrific opponent in Salah, who easily skipped past Cancelo as often as he gave him twisted blood on the dribble. In signing a new deal, the Egyptian King provided Liverpool’s memorable scene of the summer, and he appeared to be a man on a mission here, ready to spend the rest of 2022 claiming the individual awards he cares so much about.

Salah was a dynamo on the right wing, and he had his own little match played with Henderson, who wandered out there to great effect at times. The captain was highly dynamic, setting up opportunities.

Hope for life after Mane

Liverpool would have suffered two league losses and an FA Cup semi-final exit if Sadio Mane’s goals had not been scored last season. His goals only tell part of the story, so the concern about his exit and its effect on a fierce rivalry were comprehensible.

Even after the Liverpool fans’ unwavering support in the first half, Roberto Firmino didn’t appear competent of filling the attacking line — after all, Mane had completely replaced the Brazilian by moving inside last season — and the significance of Nunez settling in quickly was clear.

The Uruguayan showed endeavour from the moment he stepped on the field midway during the second period, looking relatively in tune with the Reds’ midfielders as he latched onto through balls and got involved in physical battles with the opposing center-backs. 

He eventually made two game-changing efforts, winning the penalty and scoring the game-winning header. The joy and relief were obviously seen as he went down on his knees at the full-time whistle. Andy Carroll had been gaining significant attention in reply to Nunez’s preseason debut against Manchester United a few weeks prior. The pressure could easily have begun to build.

Klopp responded in his post-match media briefing, saying, “[The debut was] good. Very good. It was obvious that he would improve with time. He’ll be evaluated on first impressions, which won’t help. [The preseason criticism] was a farce. The impact from the bench was truly outstanding.”

Liverpool vs Manchester City results

	1H	2H	Final
Liverpool	1	2	3
Man City	0	1	1

Goals:

LIV — Alexander-Arnold (21st min) 

MC — Alvarez (70th min)

LIV — Salah (83rd min)

LIV — Nunez (94th min)

Liverpool vs Manchester City lineups

Liverpool lineup (4-3-3):  Adrian (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson — Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago — Salah, Firmino, Diaz

Man City lineup (4-3-3): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo — De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva — Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish