Liverpool struck first blood against Manchester City on Saturday ahead of the new English Premier League season as Darwin Nunez made an instant impact for manager Juergen Klopp’s men to win the Community Shield 3-1.
In a tale of two big summer signings, Nunez came off the bench to win a penalty and score his first goal since a 75 million euro (US$76.7 million) move from SL Benfica, while Erling Haaland had a City debut to forget.
“He’s good,” Klopp said about Nunez, who has been criticized for his pre-season performances. “Today we played the smart passes. We saw Darwin in dangerous situations. He used the spaces and finished well too,” Klopp said. “All the subs made a real difference. It was the most important thing I learned today, that the boys are ready.”
Photo: AP
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s blistering strike gave Liverpool a deserved halftime lead in Leicester, England, but it was City’s other new forward who hauled manager Pep Guardiola’s men back into the game after the break as Julian Alvarez equalized.
Tying down Mohamed Salah to a new three-year deal was Liverpool’s other major piece of summer business, and the Egyptian was deadly from the penalty spot after Nunez’s header was handled by Ruben Dias.
The Uruguayan then got his own glory moment by stooping to head home in stoppage time before tearing off his shirt in celebration.
Victory saw Liverpool win the traditional season curtain-raiser for the first time since 2006 and lay down an early marker in what is expected to be another battle between the sides for the Premier League title.
City held off the Reds to win the Premier League for a fourth time in five years by a point in a thrilling finale to last season. Guardiola’s men had to come from 2-0 down on the final day of the campaign to beat Aston Villa and were again guilty of a slow start.
Salah was the provider for the opening goal as he laid Thiago Alcantara’s crossfield pass back to the edge of the box and Alexander-Arnold smashed in off the post with the aid of a slight deflection off Dias.
City had played just two pre-season friendlies to Liverpool’s four and took half an hour to find their feet.
Haaland was denied by Liverpool stand-in goalkeeper Adrian with his first sight of goal, but the Norwegian should have opened his City account moments later as he failed to properly connect with Joao Cancelo’s inviting cross.
“It’s good for him to see the reality of the new country, new league,” said Guardiola, referring to Haaland’s first taste of English soccer. “He was there. Today he didn’t score — another day he will score.”
Nunez was given his chance to shine on the hour mark, but fluffed it when Ederson prevailed in a one-on-one.
At the other end, City’s new South American striker also got his career in England off to a flying start. Alvarez’s arrival at the Etihad has gone under the radar in the hype surrounding Haaland, but the Argentine, who scored six goals in one Copa Libertadores match in May, is also regarded as one of the world’s most exciting young forwards.
Alvarez was quickest to react to the rebound after Adrian saved Phil Foden’s initial effort and the goal stood after a video assistant referree (VAR) review for offside.
It needed another the intervention of VAR for Liverpool to restore their lead 7 minutes from time. Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot after seeing a replay of Nunez’s header coming back off the arm of Dias. Salah was deadly as ever as he drilled into the bottom corner despite Ederson going the right way.
Nunez then ended any doubt over the result when he pounced on Andy Robertson’s header across goal, but City’s miserable day did not end there as Haaland hit the bar with the goal gaping deep in stoppage time.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS