Manchester City picked up from where they stopped last season as they beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalty to win the 2019 Community Shield.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s penalty was saved by Claudio Bravo with Gabriel Jesus scoring the winning kick.
The meeting between two outstanding sides did not disappoint.
City’s Raheem Sterling finally scored his first goal against his old club when he turned home David Silva’s flick-on from close range.
The woodwork was hit three times in quick succession in the second half, as Sterling struck the post with a one on one, Virgil van Dijk shot against the underside of the bar and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah hit a post.
The Reds were level when Joel Matip headed home from Van Dijk’s cross.
At that stage, Liverpool were the most likely team to win with Salah having at least three chances – most remarkably when his header was sensationally cleared off the line by a Kyle Walker bicycle kick.
And so the game went straight to penalties with City scoring all of theirs.
A game whose competitive status is often questioned – and might end up meaning little as the season goes on – was nonetheless an entertaining start to the top-level season. A curtain-raiser if you will.
They were perhaps lucky the game went straight to penalties and not extra time, with Liverpool in the ascendancy once they had equalised.
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