Brave Eagles bounce back twice to stun Liverpool and win the Community Shield

Liverpool has suffered a heavy blow!

Arne Slot's side has lost the Community Shield as Crystal Palace defeated them 5-4 after a penalty shootout on Sunday afternoon at Wembley. The Reds were really close to adding another piece of silverware to their staggering collection, primarily thanks to their newest signings, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz, who made their presence visible from the very first official match with the new club. Alas, the FA Cup winners had other plans, managing to bounce back twice after trailing 1-0 and 2-1. They pushed the game to a deserved penalty shootout, where Dean Henderson stepped up with a couple of amazing saves for a brilliant victory.

Without their tragically killed winger Diogo Jota, and Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left the club in the ongoing transfer window, the Premier League holders did their best prove their class. Ryan Gravenberch's absence probably did hurt them a bit too, as the Dutch midfielder got himself a deserved day off after becoming a father of a newborn on Saturday night.

We saw a sensational, action-packed start to the game, as Slot's reinforcements rushed to prove their quality and that they deserve a place in the starting XI. It was the two new men who put them in front after just four minutes, as Wirtz played it into Ekitike and the latter hit it low into the far corner past Dean Henderson for a shocking early lead, 1-0.

That sudden kick in the gut, however, didn't frustrate the Eagles much, as they bounced back swiftly. Virgil van Dijk took down Ismaila Sarr inside the box to concede a deserved penalty and allow Mateta to level the score, sending Allison the wrong way. It all happened before the 20th-minute mark.

But the craziest part was yet to come - another debutant, Jeremie Frimpong, rushed with the ball on the right wing before chipping it over Henderson and into the net, 2-1.

What a way to start your Liverpool career!

Oliver Glasner's men returned from the break without a white flag. Their courageous approach created quite a few issues for the Scousers' back line, as pressure kept mounting. Eberechi Eze was all over the place, but Allison pulled off an incredible save to keep his team in front midway through the second half. Slot noticed the time had come for him to make changes, as his Hungarian duo - Szoboszlai and Kerkez - struggled in midfield.

Alexis Mac Allister, who's still not ready for 90 minutes of football, got his cameo in the last 20 minutes, but it didn't prevent the EPL champion from conceding. Gakpo lost the ball in midfield, Wharton handed it perfectly to Sarr and his immaculate finishing meant we had got our game back, 2-2.

Interestingly, it could have been 2-3 almost instantly, but for some reason, Chris Kavanagh wasn't impressed by Mac Allister's handball inside Liverpool's area, and instead of a penalty, the Eagles got a corner kick.

After the regular 90 minutes, it stayed 2-2, so we went to a penalty shootout. Salah opened the series with a terrible miss over the crossbar, while Mateta was on target again. Henderson denied Mac Allister's effort with a lovely save, but Eze couldn't get his shot past Allison and the post. Gakpo equalised before Sarr restored the lead. Harvey Elliot joined Salah and Mac Allister with another lacklustre attempt, but Borna Sona failed to kill the Reds in this crazy shootout. Szoboszlai took no prisoners, which wasn't worth too much in the end as Devenny's resolute hit provided the Eagles with another trophy.

COMMUNITY SHIELD

Crystal Palace - Liverpool 5-4 after penalties (2-2)

/Mateta 17 pen, Sarr 71 - Ekitike 4, Frimpong 21/