A dramatic 2025 Community Shield required a penalty shootout to separate the two teams as Crystal Palace triumphed over Liverpool at Wembley.
Liverpool looked on course to claim a 17th Community Shield title until late in the second half after a Jeremie Frimpong goal had handed them a lead.
Hugo Ekitike wasted no time in announcing himself to the Liverpool faithful as he slammed home after four minutes to give the Reds an early lead.
However, Ismaila Sarr won a first-half penalty for Crystal Palace, that was converted by Jean-Philippe Mateta, before grabbing a goal of his own to take the game to penalties.
The stage was then set for a dramatic penalty shootout as Mohamed Salah blazed the first spotkick over the bar before Dean Henderson emerged as Palace’s hero. Here are five lessons learned from a dramatic Community Shield clash.
Hugo Ekitike announces his arrival at Liverpool
Arne Slot did not rest on his laurels after Liverpool claimed the title, as the Dutchman launched an ambitious rebuild of his squad.
With Darwin Nunez quitting Liverpool to move to Saudi Arabia, new signing Hugo Ekitike was handed the responsibility of leading the line at Wembley.
Ekitike was lively early on, with his movement causing the Palace defence problems, and he opened his Liverpool account with just his fourth touch, rifling into the bottom corner after four minutes.
It was the perfect way for the big-money signing to announce himself to the Liverpool faithful and hit the ground running with his new club.
Ismaila Sarr set for big season with Crystal Palace
Ismaila Sarr was one of the catalysts behind Palace’s run to FA Cup glory last season and picked up exactly where he left off in the sunshine at Wembley.
The Senegalese forward enjoyed the most productive season of his Premier League career in the 2024/25 season, scoring eight and registering six assists according to the stats from ESPN.
Sarr was instrumental in Palace’s first-half equaliser, drawing a foul from Virgil van Dijk to win the penalty, which Jean-Philippe Mateta duly converted. He then scored Palace’s equaliser, latching onto a pass from Adam Wharton to finish well.
With Eberechi Eze attracting interest from several clubs thanks to his brilliant recent form, Sarr proved that Palace are far from a one-man attack as he looks set for another strong season.
Jeremie Frimpong proves there is life after Trent Alexander-Arnold
The departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid on a free transfer could have blown a hole in Slot’s defence.
But Dutch international Jeremie Frimpong proved that there is life after the former fan favourite in his first competitive appearance for the Reds.
Frimpong was impressive at right back, getting back well to stop a dangerous attack from Eze in the first half and starting a flowing attack that also involved new arrivals Florian Wirtz and Ekitike, which was ended by an offside against Cody Gakpo.
The Dutchman capped off his appearance with a bizarre goal, as his attempted cross drifted into Dean Henderson’s net…