Some believed it would be a stroll in the park for Liverpool, the reigning English Premier League (EPL) champions
But in a case of the first man to get to the police station not necessarily being the person who wins the case, underdogs Crystal Palace came from behind twice to beat Liverpool to the Community Shield, at Wembley today, August 10.
And at a stroke, the trophy cabinet has to find space for a second cup. I’s the London bus syndrome just as the Eagles of Crystal Palace would have dreamt it.
A first Community Shield to follow up on that first FA Cup triumph (against Manchester City) guarantees smiles on the faces of fans even more in the future whenever 2025 is mentioned to them.
Even without this icing on the cake, the fans would have enjoyed another colourful and noisy day out at the home of football.
But of course there is nothing like winning a cup, even if this one is not quite as big a bauble as the one that they claimed a few months ago. Along with the semi-final win over Villa, that makes it three out of three on the hallowed turf this year.
The Eagles twice hit back after falling behind and then won the penalty shoot-out 3-2, with Justin Devenny applying the coup de grace after a litany of misses.
A subdued Mo Salah skied the first kick over the bar and Palace goalie Dean Henderson saved the second from Alexis Mac Allister.
Harvey Elliott also missed and even though Eberechi Eze had his effort saved and Borna Sosa hit the bar with his shot at glory, Devenny held his nerve.
Palace supporters were once again in fine voice – lauding their team but also taking the opportunity to voice vociferous anti-UEFA and anti-Marinakis chants.
The Forest owner (Marinakis) and European governing body are both the subject of ire for their combined efforts to deny Palace a place in this season’s Europa League and a decision this week will decide whether an appeal to be readmitted has had any traction.
The febrile atmosphere was a far cry from most of these showpiece pre-season events and both sides elevated this to more than a glorified friendly.
Palace brought their drums, their flares and their new replica shirts alongside that famed passion.
The Reds were quickly out of the traps, with two of their expensive summer signings from the Bundesliga combining well to give them a fourth-minute lead.
Florian Wirtz was the provider but Hugo Ekitike did the hard bit, working himself enough room to be able to slide the ball low past Henderson’s left hand.
The Eagles responded well and although Jean-Philippe Mateta was thwarted in a one v one by Liverpool goalie Alisson, the striker made amends by coolly putting away a penalty seconds later after Virgil van Dijk clipped Ismaila Sarr. Mateta, along with Sarr, would make no mistake in the shoot out.
Arne Slot’s champions were back in front when another of the German imports struck – this time it was Jeremie Frimpong, the replacement for the departed Trent Alexander-Arnold – who became the unlikely goalscorer with a chipped cross from wide out right that totally deceived Henderson and floated inside the back stick.
That goal fittingly came during the minute’s applause ringing out from the Liverpool end for Diogo Jota, whose tragic death was marked by a (poorly observed) minute’s silence ahead of kick-off and the laying of a wreath by Reds ambassador Ian Rush and Palace chairman Steve Parish.
Jota scored the winner when the side’s met at Selhurst Park last season and it was inevitable his memory would be felt at Wembley’s traditional sun-kissed season curtain-raiser.
Ekitike caused Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guehi a ton of grief and the Frenchman twice went close to adding goals at the start of the second half as Liverpool sought to put the game out of Palace’s reach.
But the Eagles stayed very much in contention despite the expensively-assembled champions testing them with a slickness that bodes well for their chances of retaining their title this season.
Eze – whose goal clinched the 1-0 victory over Man City in May’s final – almost fired past Alisson and it needed a fine reflex stop from the Brazilian to deny him.
Then, with 13 minutes remaining, Adam Wharton’s clever chip forward found Sarr darting into the inside right channel and the lightning-quick striker pounced, clipping the ball past Alisson and into the net via the near post.
Sub Devenny almost won it at the death with a sliding shot across the face of goal as Palace finished strongly. He may have missed out on the glory then, but would earn it at the end of the shootout.
Palace coach Oliver Glasner has said he wants a signing or two to help his side kick on this season and in order to cope with the extra workload European football will bring. But the important thing is the nucleus is still there to work from – assuming the transfer window does not yet rock the boat.
Players:
Eagles: (3-4-2-1) Henderson – Richards, Lacroix, Guehi (Devenny 90) – Munoz, Kamada (Hughes 29), Wharton (Lerma 84), Mitchell (Sosa 79) – Sarr, Eze – Mateta
Reds: (4-2-3-1) Becker – Frimpong, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez (Robertson 84) – Jones (Endo 71), Szobaszlai – Salah, Wirtz (Elliott 84), Gakpo – Ekitike (Mac Allister 71)
Attendance: 82,645.
