Liverpool lifted their 16th Community Shield after beating Manchester City 3-1 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola likes to give his City side at least four weeks on holiday after the conclusion of the season and the international matches, and they looked rusty in the opening stages. It was Liverpool who started the brighter of the two sides and opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Trent Alexander-Arnold finished off a delightful move to give the Reds the lead, curling the ball into the far corner via a deflection after Mohamed Salah's lay off. City grew into the game and had opportunities to level through Erling Haaland but were unable to beat Adrian - up until Julian Alvarez's arrival on to the pitch.
The former River Plate man netted the equaliser just minutes after coming on, as he slotted the ball home past the Liverpool shot-stopper. But it was the Reds who came away with the win as they added two late goals. Salah slotted home a penalty, before Darwin Nunez headed home in the 93rd minute to hand his side the trophy.
Here are the talking points.
1. Firmino given the nod
Many were wondering who Klopp was going to start as the central striker with Diogo Jota ruled out with a hamstring injury and Sadio Mane no longer at the club. Despite signing in an £80million move from Benfica last month, Darwin Nunez was named on the bench with Roberto Firmino given the nod up front.
The Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move to Juventus in recent weeks, but looks set to stay at the Reds with Klopp adamant their summer transfer business is over. Firmino also impressed against City, linking up well with Luiz Diaz and Salah, and did not look like he is finished in a Liverpool shirt just yet.
2. Alexander-Arnold shows class
New season? Same Alexander-Arnold. The 23-year-old was one of Liverpool's most impressive players last season, having chipped in with 21 goal contributions in all competitions and he continued where he left off against City.
Alexander-Arnold's goal was a touch of pure class. Although it did take a deflection off Ake, the England international knew where he wanted to place the effort and did so from just outside the box, with the ball striking off the inside of the post and into the back of the net. He also defended well throughout the game, denying Jack Grealish much time on the ball at all.
3. Alvarez bags debut goal
Although City didn't come out on top, it was a City debut to remember for Alvarez. The Argentinian was introduced as a second-half substitute and scored just moments after coming on. Phil Foden's strike was well saved by Adrian but the ball fell straight to Alvarez, who poked the ball home from close range.
He also looked sharp after his goal, combining well with Haaland and Walker as he predominately played off the right-hand side. He could go under the radar given Haaland's arrival, and will no doubt be wanting to replicate the success held by Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, who both left the club this summer.
4. Haaland vs Nunez
There is a lot of excitement around world football to see how Haaland adapts to English football following his big-money move to City from Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old scored on his unofficial City debut against Bayern Munich a week ago, but was unable to repeat the same feat in Leicester. Haaland had a couple of opportunities - one of which he should have scored with in the 97th minute - but it wasn't to be for the Norweigan.
Meanwhile, Nunez came on as a substitute and almost immediately made a name for himself. The 22-year-old was played through on goal with just Ederson to beat, but the City goalkeeper stood up big to deny Nunez as he tried to dink him. But Nunez had the last laugh as he won the penalty for Salah before getting a goal himself in injury-time as he headed home Andy Robertson's knock down - sparking wild scenes with the forward taking his shirt off in the celebration.
5. Liverpool boos
Liverpool fans elected to continue their tradition of booing the national anthem before their clash with City. Some will certainly be questioning why Reds’ fans hold such opposition for the tune but it appears that the booing can be traced back to the 1980s. Severe opposition to the Conservative government at the time, as well as the fallout following the Hillsborough tragedy, drove a wedge between the city and the rest of the country.
There was another contentious incident ahead of kick-off with Liverpool supporters loudly indicating their disdain for the national anthem with noticeable boos before following that up with the chant "F*** the Tories". The booing and the chants against the Government have been a running theme for the Reds - supporters doing the same during their FA Cup final clash with Chelsea back in May.
