LONDON, Aug 11 — Crystal Palace twice fought back to shock a revamped Liverpool and claim their first-ever Community Shield, winning 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Sunday.
LONDON, Aug 11 — Crystal Palace twice fought back to shock a revamped Liverpool and claim their first-ever Community Shield, winning 3-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Sunday.
New Liverpool signings Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong were both on target, but Palace responded through Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr before edging an error-filled shootout. Mohamed Salah fired over from the spot, while Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott were denied by a superb Dean Henderson. The victory adds to Palace’s historic FA Cup triumph over Manchester City in May.
“We matched Liverpool and delivered a big performance. I’m proud of the team,” said Palace manager Oliver Glasner.
The season’s traditional curtain-raiser carried extra emotional weight for Liverpool following the tragic death of forward Diogo Jota in a car crash alongside his brother, Andre Silva. Before kick-off, Reds legend Ian Rush and Palace chairman Steve Parish laid wreaths, while the Liverpool end was filled with banners and flags honouring Jota. A planned minute’s silence was cut short due to crowd disturbances.
Liverpool, fresh from a record-equalling 20th league title, unveiled all four of their big-money summer signings — Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Frimpong and Milos Kerkez — costing £260 million in total. Ekitike, a £69 million arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt, opened the scoring just four minutes in, spinning onto Wirtz’s pass and finishing into the far corner.
Palace, in their first Community Shield appearance, showed no fear and levelled when Sarr was tripped by Virgil van Dijk, allowing Mateta to convert coolly from the spot. Liverpool regained the lead in the 20th minute as Frimpong’s chipped cross caught Henderson off guard and dropped into the far corner.
Ekitike missed a golden chance to double his tally, and Liverpool’s attacking fluency was again undermined by defensive frailties. “We’re creating more, but also conceding more. You can’t give away these kinds of chances if you want to win the league,” manager Arne Slot admitted.
Palace struck again with 13 minutes left, Sarr racing onto Adam Wharton’s through ball to slot past Alisson — his fourth goal in seven matches against Liverpool.
The match went straight to penalties, where young Justin Devenny blasted the decisive kick high past Alisson to seal a famous Palace victory, outshining Liverpool’s misfiring stars from the spot. — AFP
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