Today's game at Wembley was the third soccer match I have watched on consecutive days. Friday saw me at Drogheda for the goalless draw with Waterford, while Saturday took me to the Aviva in Dublin to watch Leeds United draw with AC Milan. As if two draws were not enough the same was served up today. 2-2 at the end of normal time.
The Community Shield may not be the most coveted of trophies, a sort of add on to the real silverware picked up the previous season. The competition is viewed as a friendly but there is added bite to the clash because it serves as an opening ceremony for the new season just a week away, when the business really gets underway.
With Diogo Jota barely a month dead, the minute silence in honour of both he and his brother was noisily interrupted by a section of Crystal Palace fans. That type of biliousness is still around, spurred by some toxic obscurantism that the disturbers themselves might not even understand beyond it being a chance to poke the opposition in the eye. It is all very Sun-like. Many of the disrupters' fellow fans turned on them.
Liverpool started so well, taking an early fourth minute lead, that I felt they could run out as winners by a hefty margin. It was not to be. Crystal Palace dug in to emerge victorious after a penalty shootout to which Liverpool's contribution was well below average. The Community Shield is a tournament where the Reds have now ended up beaten a total of nine times.
The new combination of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike looks promising, while at the back the defensive partnership of Jeremy Frimpong and Milos Kerkez adds enormous drive and pace to an aging and tiring back line. As a defender Frimpong is an improvement on Trent Alexander Arnold, although it remains to be seen what he has to offer in the midfield area where Trent excelled. Kerkez covers much ground but he seemed to lack the tactical awareness of Andy Robertson, the player he will eventually permanently replace. Too often he either played the attacking Palace players onside or was exposed by a ball over the top. He might just require ten or so matches under his belt before a more rounded understanding with his fellow backs is reached.
While welcoming the new signings my first concern is that as individual players they bring great flair but it might take a while for them all, not just Kerkez, to find their rhythm and click as a team. However, that might allow others like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to seize momentum in the first months of a new season, making it hard for even a great team to catch up.
For some reason I felt we were watching the beginning of the end of the Mo Salah odyssey. He was not an effective part of the game. The key playmaker, Wirtz, sought out Ekitike rather than the Egyptian, suggestion that this is where Slot sees the future of the team lying. And if Alexander Izak is brought in from Newcastle where is clearly unhappy where then for Salah? Symbolically, this hunch seemed to find affirmation in the penalty miss. His shot never even hit the target, making its way harmlessly over the bar.
Another worrying sign is the sharpness of Virgil Van Dijk. He was in large part responsible for both Palace goals, first giving away a penalty through a mistimed tackle and then when he stepped out to spring the offside trap but failing to bring his fellow defenders with him. Probably more important than bringing in an attacker like Izak is the acquisition of an established centre back.
Overall, while losing in the Community Shield is no great loss, Arne Slot must have concerns about the way Liverpool started the game only to go flat. The focus and fluency disappeared like snow on a ditch, Despite the summer big spend the best team on the Wembley turf beat them to the silverware.
While welcoming the new signings my first concern is that as individual players they bring great flair but it might take a while for them all, not just Kerkez, to find their rhythm and click as a team. However, that might allow others like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to seize momentum in the first months of a new season, making it hard for even a great team to catch up.
For some reason I felt we were watching the beginning of the end of the Mo Salah odyssey. He was not an effective part of the game. The key playmaker, Wirtz, sought out Ekitike rather than the Egyptian, suggestion that this is where Slot sees the future of the team lying. And if Alexander Izak is brought in from Newcastle where is clearly unhappy where then for Salah? Symbolically, this hunch seemed to find affirmation in the penalty miss. His shot never even hit the target, making its way harmlessly over the bar.
Another worrying sign is the sharpness of Virgil Van Dijk. He was in large part responsible for both Palace goals, first giving away a penalty through a mistimed tackle and then when he stepped out to spring the offside trap but failing to bring his fellow defenders with him. Probably more important than bringing in an attacker like Izak is the acquisition of an established centre back.
Overall, while losing in the Community Shield is no great loss, Arne Slot must have concerns about the way Liverpool started the game only to go flat. The focus and fluency disappeared like snow on a ditch, Despite the summer big spend the best team on the Wembley turf beat them to the silverware.
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