Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes his side could have lost during regular time before scoring two of their five penalties in a shootout defeat to Crystal Palace in the 2025 Community Shield.
New signings Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong struck either side of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty for Palace as the Reds twice went ahead inside the opening 22 minutes, but Ismaila Sarr capitalised on Virgil van Dijk misjudging Liverpool’s defensive line to race clear for a composed 77th-minute finish in the 2-2 draw.
“We controlled the game until the moment they made it 2-2,” said Slot. “All of a sudden – although we still had one big chance for Mo Salah – we could have lost it.”
What an introduction by Hugo Ekitike 🤩
4 minutes is all it for the big Frenchman to make his mark, with a brilliant finish to put Liverpool ahead ⚽️
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/h6DcLaLn1o
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
Only Arsenal had a better top-flight defensive record last season than Liverpool, who kept 14 clean sheets in the league on their way to winning the title by 10 points ahead of the Gunners in Slot’s first campaign in England.
With a new-look back line including full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, they have not kept a clean sheet across their pre-season Asia tour and two games in England since then, beating Milan 4-2, Yokohama 3-1 and Athletic Bilbao 4-1 and 3-2.
Van Dijk was seen shaking his head after Sarr fired in as Liverpool’s record extended to one clean sheet in their last 12 matches, including friendlies.
“Until that moment, there was every reason for me to believe that we would win this game,” Slot added. “Afterwards, we were maybe lucky that we could go to penalties.
“What made us really strong last season was we won mostly by a one-goal margin and that was mostly to do with us keeping clean sheets or conceding a maximum of one.
“We didn’t give away that many chances until they made it 2-2, and then they threatened more.”
Clinical from Ismaïla Sarr 🎯
Van Dijk steps up early and the forward takes full advantage!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/DAmE6u0176
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
Liverpool signings help to ‘dominate more’
Slot was encouraged by Liverpool’s attacking players, including a fourth-minute opener by new forward Hugo Ekitike, who showed why they paid Eintracht Frankfurt an initial £69 million for the France Under-21 international when he scored after swapping passes with attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, who has arrived from Leverkusen for a potential British-record £116m.
Netherlands right-back Frimpong, who cost £29.5m from Leverkusen, also scored with a cross from the right that looped over goalkeeper Dean Henderson and in.
“During the whole pre-season, we have seen that we are able to create more and are more comfortable on the ball,” said Slot.
“We’ve been dominating teams more. Last year, we had a lot of possession that didn’t always lead to promising situations.
Liverpool are ahead, and it’s another new man as Jeremie Frimpong’s cross finds the far corner to make it 2-1 ⚽️
Right on the 20 minute mark 2️⃣0️⃣
“Some things are just meant to be”📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/5TKVrGM6td
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
“Now we are better… but the other side is also true, that we conceded four against Milan, one against a Japanese team, two against Bilbao and two again today.
“Today we scored twice against Palace, when last season we were not able to do that once. We won 1-0 against them and had a 1-1 draw at Anfield, so that’s a positive.
“But we conceded two – against a good team, by the way, who made it really difficult for everyone last season and I’m expecting to do so again, with a lot of balls [testing] our back line and a lot of crosses.”
Palace vs Liverpool penalties
Premier League golden boot holder Salah sent the opening attempt of Liverpool’s 3-2 shootout defeat high over the target at Wembley Stadium before Henderson denied Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott to make Palace the first team to win the showpiece match at the first attempt.
Palace missed twice, Alisson turning Eberechi Eze’s effort against a post and Borna Sosa hitting the crossbar on his Eagles debut. Added-time substitute Justin Devenny smashed in the decisive kick.
“I don’t think there was a main issue but, if the other team misses two penalties and you still lose within five penalties, that doesn’t help,” reflected Slot.
CRYSTAL PALACE WIN THE COMMUNITY SHIELD! 🏆
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/8j5e2mGSD7
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
Mo Salah misses Liverpool’s opening penalty in the shootout 😳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/AccQrc0Zoe
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
Mac Allister and Eze both miss from the spot ❌
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HjLtSv6t7D
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
The first period was the highest-scoring first half of a Community Shield match since 1992, FA Cup holders Palace equalising through Mateta’s penalty after Van Dijk fouled Sarr.
This was the sixth Community Shield match of the last nine to go to penalties, including each of the last three.
Manchester City beat Manchester United last year and Arsenal beat City in 2023, while the Gunners beat Liverpool in 2020 and Chelsea in 2017.
City also beat Liverpool via spot kicks in 2019.
All level here at Wembley! 🤯
Foul on Sarr by van Dijk, and Mateta steps up confidently to crash home the penalty to make it 1-1!
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Y36vOj1r81
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 10, 2025
Liverpool line-up vs Palace
Left-back Kerkez, who joined Liverpool from Bournemouth for £40m in June, was among Liverpool’s starters.
Brazil international Alisson returned after missing their tour for personal reasons and midfielder Ryan Gravenberch was not in the squad because his wife gave birth on Saturday.
Liverpool starting XI: Alisson, Frimpong, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Jones, Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo
Liverpool subs: Mamardashvili, Endo, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Elliott, Robertson, Nyoni, Doak, Ngumoha
When does Liverpool’s 2025/26 Premier League season start?
Liverpool launch the Premier League season at home to Bournemouth on Friday, August 15 at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT).
The game is being shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Ultra and Main Event.
The last round of matches this season will all start at the same time on May 24 2026. No rounds will take place within 60 hours of each other and there will be no fixture on December 24.
How to watch Liverpool on TV: Sky Sports
Prices for Sky Sports and TNT Sports vary. Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.
How to watch Liverpool on TNT Sports
According to BT, TNT Sports costs £20 a month when bought with a broadband package or £30.99 a month without a contract.
Those prices include discovery+ Premium, which offers access to thousands of exclusive shows and originals.
Liverpool live streams: How to watch online
Both broadcasters have dedicated apps allowing fans to live-stream the games: SkyGO for Sky Sports and discovery+ for TNT Sports.
Both apps are available on a vast range of devices, including smart TVs, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and mobile devices.
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2025-08-10 20:37:17
