It was Liverpool’s new big-money striker Darwin Nunez who won the day in his Community Shield showdown with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on Saturday.
Despite Nunez starting on the bench, the Uruguay hotshot was the man who found the back of the net in a 3-1 win at the King Power Stadium, with City’s Norwegian missing from point blank at the end of the tie to sum up a frustrating first competitive outing for his new club.
In a battle for a mental edge as FA Cup and League Cup winners Liverpool and Premier League champions City prepare to resume their fight for league supremacy, both spanne looked off the pace in the early exchanges.
Trent Alexander-Arnold gave the Reds a lead after 20 minutes with a curling strike from the edge of the area.
But fans would have to wait for almost 50 minutes for another goal, when Julian Alvarez forced a goal from close range, which had to be checked by VAR for offside.
The Reds got some VAR assistance of their own with 10 minutes to go when Nunez’s header struck Ruben Dias’s hand and Mo Salah converted from the penalty spot - 2-1.
Nunez made it 3-1 four minutes into injury time with a diving header, before Haaland hit the crossbar from seven yards out moments later.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is full of praise for his record signing after landing a first Community Shield in 16 years.
He says: “I think Darwin [Nunez] would have been fine even without scoring the third one because the penalty was [James Milner] Millie’s cross and his header.
“The goal was obviously the icing on the cake, so really pleased for him.”
City boss Pep Guardiola says of his new striker: “He [Haaland] had chances - two or three in the first half and one at the end. Always, he was there.
“He didn’t score - another day he will score.”
City open their Premier League account against West Ham on Sunday, while Liverpool face Fulham on Saturday.