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Community Shield: Take aways from Manchester City's win

Three things we learnt from Manchester City's FA Community Shield win over Premier League rivals Liverpool.

Manchester City beat Liverpool via penalty shootout to claim the Community Shield

Bengaluru, August 5: Manchester City claimed their first trophy of the season after defeating rivals Liverpool via penalties to win the FA Community Shield.

The scoreline was 1-1 after 90 minutes of exciting end to end football and it was the Cityzens who came out victorious in the lottery of penalty shootout.

Raheem Sterling gave City a valuable lead early in the first half while Liverpool equalized through Joel Matip in the second half. The Premier League holders were flawless as they tucked in all five of their penalties. For Liverpool, unfortunately Gini Wijnaldum missed his spot-kick.

Here are three things we learnt from the game:

1. David Silva is still a player who can make a difference:

David Silva, now 33, has announced that this will be his final season at the Etihad. But the skipper of the Sky Blues, Silva showed his magical self on the pitch. His flick for the Sterling goal was really fantastic.

Manchester City will have a difficult job on their hands at the end of the season to replace their veteran skipper. Players like Silva come once in a generation and he will go down in the history books of the club as one of the greatest players ever to dawn a City jersey alongside the likes of Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero.

2. Liverpool finally have a solid bench:

Since Jurgen Klopp took over at Liverpool, it has always been a work in progress. Every season, the Reds improved in one aspect. First Klopp improved their attack creating a formidable attacking trio of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. The Reds scored for fun but also used to concede a lot and that was rectified last season as the Reds conceded least number of goals in all of Europe's top five leagues.

On Sunday (August 4), Klopp changed the complexion of the game by using his his bench strength which shows how much squad depth Liverpool finally have. When everyone is fit, Liverpool have a very deep squad which will be needed this season as they play in Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

3. Adam Lallana can still be an asset:

Even though most Liverpool fans have zero hopes on Adam Lallana, it is quite a public knowledge that Klopp still remains a huge admirer of the former Southmpton skipper. Lallana showed exactly why he is so much highly rated by the manager when he came on from the bench.

If he can avoid injury problems, Lallana could prove to be an asset for the Reds as he brings something unique to the team. He can play with either foot, he is technically gifted and is versatile enough to play almost anywhere in midfield and attack. On top of that, he is a tireless runner which is vital in Klopp's system.

Story first published: Monday, August 5, 2019, 12:08 [IST]
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