Go for Erling, a total blow to Darwin.
If the “Community Shield” program is useless?
Instead, a delicious taste of what awaits.
That Jürgen Klopp (actually) has no warm feelings for him community shield I understand the whole country now.
Players may not be 100 percent ready to undergo the harshest possible test a week before the start of the season.
In addition, there is a risk of unwanted infection. Just ask Pep Guardiola, who in 2019 chose to recruit Leroy Sane, then on his way to Bayern Munich. Movement delayed due to wing injury.
However, even Klopp couldn’t smile at King Power Stadium on Saturday. There was simply too much to make you happy.
Quick Transfers
From the first photo sequence at the start, Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland side by side, to the fast transfers that set the stage for Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal. The big moments didn’t make this fight feel like a pre-season game, but rather a delicious taste of what’s to come.
Liverpool tried to keep the rhythm. Turning the edge, he nimbly hit Salah on the right or lunged Andy Robertson on the left. Unsurprisingly, coverage on Salah was tight but Al Masry made amends in the 21st minute by passing the pass to the side to Alexander-Arnold.
It’s a very bad idea for a right-back to give more than a hundredth of a second to a goal. Now he had a much longer time than that and pulled from the edge of the penalty area, a shot pasted Ederson into the goal.
Haaland entry affects KDB
Halland? For the most part, the Norwegian was isolated. His gruesome power didn’t show until the end of the half as he emerged victorious from a duel with Robertson and earned a finish (in total he touched the ball eight times).
Now the ball did not end at the end of the net, but the action served as a reminder of the qualities of the striker. It just doesn’t get too stagnant, but gets involved in the game so that it can be used.
Offensively, City were at their best when Riyad Mahrez slipped centrally from his position in the wing, opening up spaces for him and his teammates.
Kevin De Bruyne was behind two of the Blues’ nine scoring chances by running deep (versus six for Liverpool). It was also interesting to see the Belgian’s high concentration – and somewhat loneliness – during the first 45 years, perhaps as a result of Haaland’s entry.
Alvarez is active
Then Klopp decided to give another chance and talked a lot about the new signing.
Darwin Nunez was not on the field for several minutes when City’s central defender Robin Dias and Nathan Ake failed to clear a high ball. Nunez, who likes to run behind the opponent’s backline, fired a shot that Ederson saved in the face.
Liverpool and Man City have the same kind of dilemma. Learn the playing styles of these new strikers and favorite runs, which naturally change the dynamic of the entire team.
There is of course another new addition that may not have been talked about much. Julian Alvarez, of River Plate, intervened when Mahrez stepped down and added another dimension to the attack.
Alvarez’s energy and willingness to prove himself created the equalizer which was backed by the VAR review. However, City’s joy at finally catching up lasted only ten minutes before Nunez hit Dia’s hand inside the penalty area.
shaky defensive
What started with an angry Klopp and was portrayed as a battle between Haaland and Nunez, was decided as it often is: with a goal from Mohamed Salah, this time from a penalty kick.
But also with a late 3-1 goal by Uruguayan goalkeeper Darwin Nunez. Pressed to take on the responsibility Sadio Mane left with a move to Bayern Munich, the ending was perhaps a huge relief.
The Community Shield is perhaps an unnecessary blow to many and is often forgotten as the season drags on. With six days left until the start of the series, it can still be argued that Liverpool are at least as dangerous as before, perhaps dangerous enough to bring down the current champion.
Despite the misleading for Haaland today, it is clear that Man City have not weakened offensively either. Guardiola just needs to know how to make the most of his squad and find the right balance.
But defensively? Aymeric Laporte’s injury, which kept the center back in the early months of the tournament, is more worrying at the moment. This, and many other things, we now know.
