This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
On Sunday, Manchester City won the Community Shield against Liverpool in a penalty shootout, marking the annual curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season.
Kevin De Bruyne, a midfielder for Manchester City, attributed the team's win to the fact that both teams were not yet physically ready for the season, despite the intense competition.
"It was a really tough game," De Bruyne told BT Sport. "You can still see it's early pre-season. Both teams are not physically ready yet. It's nice to see the competition and we will fight each other again this season."
"Some guys just came back two days ago, others have trained two or three weeks. Pre-season is more commercial these days so August is important."
Manchester City defender Kyle Walker expressed his excitement about winning the Community Shield, which he considered a significant trophy in his childhood.
"It's the first trophy you can win, for me growing up this was a big one. It starts off the season and hopefully we can replicate what we did last season."
The new Premier League season is set to kick off on Friday, with Liverpool hosting Norwich.
