Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City: Destiny chose Nunez to help Liverpool have the last laugh

Match preview:

   The FA Cup’s winners were qualified for the Community Shield after defeating Chelsea in the FA Cup final earlier this year. They have won the trophy 10 times in its history. However, the most recent victory was from sixteen years ago. The preparation of Jurgen Klopp’s squad was not really good. They lost two out of four games, with a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Manchester United in Thai Lan. The only bright side for the Kop was that their rockie Darwin Nunez scored a pocker in their impressive 5-0 win against RB Leipzig. Unfortunately, some key players like Alisson Becker, Kostas Tsimikas, Diogo Jota, Calvin Ramsay, Caoimhin Kelleher, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are absent due to different injuries.

   As for Manchester City, they have the right to take part in the Community Shield since they are the Premier League’s Champions. The Citizens had only 2 friendly matches, with a 100% winning. Their victory began with a 2-1 win agaist Club América and then beat the Bundesliga Bayern Munich 1-0, with the spotlight belonged to Erling Haaland as he opened his account after just 12 minutes. Aymeric Laporte is the only player missing from this match due to a knee injury.

Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City

XI line-ups:

•    Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo, De Bruyne (Gundogan 73), Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez (Alvarez 58), Haaland , Grealish (Foden 58)
•    Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold (Milner 74), Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson (Elliott 73), Fabinho, Thiago, Salah (Jones 90), Firmino (Nunez 58), Diaz (Carvalho 90)

   City came to the match with their almost full strength, with the best attacking trio in Pep’hands, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez pairing with the super striker Erling Haaland. It was believed that the Citizens could easily control the match, but things were different. In the first half of the match, Man City seemed to be off the pace and overshadowed by Liverpool, who dominated with many chances created at the beginning. Luis Dias and Salah had opportunities to take Liverpool the lead in the 3^rd and 4^th minute respectively. But they lack a bit of luck to make this happen. However, what must be, must be. The Kop’s endeavors finally paid off. Received the ball from Thiago, Salah set it back to Alexander-Arnold. The English right back defender opened the scoring for Liverpool with a powerful shot that slightly touched Nathan Ake’s head and did not give Ederson a chance to save.

                                                                 Trent Alexander-Arnold takes Liverpool a lead

After conceding a goal, Pep Guardiola made some changes and forced the team to attack to find an equalizer. As a result, they gradually got into the game and created a series of chances from De Bruyne, Haaland, and Mahrez. But the squad still needed some cutting-edge to convert them into goals. The first half ended with a temporary 1-0 win for Liverpool.

  In the second half, both managers, in an attempt to renew their attack, introduced Foden and Rookie Alvarez and the club-record signing Darwin Nunez, respectively. The changes were effective immediately. While the Uruguayan forward had 2 chances, including the shot hitting Ederson’s face, the substitutes from City’s side instantly made impressions.  In the 70^th minute, received a ball from Kevin De Bruyne, Foden’s volley was parried by Adrian. But he tried to win the ball from the keeper’s hands and gave it to Julian Alvarez. The Argentinean forward equalized for Manchester City. His goal was initially ruled out by the referee, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was finally recognized.

                                                                   Julian Avarez equalizes for Manchester City.

However, the jubilance of the citizens did not last long. After just 13 minutes, from Salah’s cross, Nunez headed the ball, hitting Ruben Dias’s hand. At first, the referee, Craig Pawson, declared the incident to be unintentional, but after that, he changed his mind and determined it was a penalty after a VAR check. Mo Salah then did not make any mistakes to retake Liverpool the lead, 2-1 for Liverpool. In the third minute of the added time, the record signing headed to Ederson’s net to bring the final 3-1 win for the Kop. This result helps Liverpool have the first time lifting the Community Shield trophy since 2006. And Man City had a second consecutive year of losing this title.

 Reference source:

  www.mirror.co.uk

  www.goal.com

  www.dailymail.co.uk