This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
On a sweltering summer evening at Wembley Stadium, Manchester City emerged victorious in the Community Shield, defeating Liverpool 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
The match was a highly entertaining affair, with both teams creating numerous scoring opportunities. The Reds were level when Joel Matip headed home from Virgil van Dijk's cross, but 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.
However, the woodwork was hit three times in quick succession in the second half, as Sterling struck the post with a one-on-one, Van Dijk shot against the underside of the bar, and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah hit a post.
Despite being down to 10 men, City's Kevin de Bruyne was majestic, especially in the first half, with a big hand in the opening goal. The Belgian found David Silva, who knocked the ball on for Sterling to blast home.
City's Claudio Bravo made several crucial saves, including one from Georginio Wijnaldum's penalty, which was saved by the City goalkeeper. Gabriel Jesus scored the winning kick in the penalty shootout.
Manchester City started the game with no recognised striker and Sterling playing up front, but an injury to Leroy Sane meant Jesus was brought on after just 13 minutes.
De Bruyne's performance was a highlight of the match, and he was instrumental in City's opening goal. The Belgian's vision and passing range were on full display as he found Silva, who set up Sterling for the goal.
City's debutant Rodri played the Fernandinho role as a sitting midfielder, doing the simple things well without making any headline-making passes. However, he was caught daydreaming once as Salah took the ball off him, but Bravo was off his line quickly to stop the Egyptian.
One slight change to the way City played saw Bravo play short goal-kicks in his box to Nicolas Otamendi, taking advantage of the new laws this summer which passing teams like City and Liverpool are likely to utilise.
Despite being on the back foot, City managed to hold on and win the Community Shield in a thrilling penalty shootout.
