Crystal Palace won their first Community Shield trophy with a nail-biting penalty shootout against Premier League champions Liverpool at Wembley.
Liverpool began energetically and scored a goal in the fifth minute when new arrival Hugo Ekitiké combined with record signing Florian Wirtz before shooting past Dean Henderson in a cool manner.
Palace answered through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s spot kick after Virgil van Dijk fouled Ismaïla Sarr, but Liverpool were back in front almost straight away as Jeremie Frimpong’s cross-looped shot found the target.
The second half offered chances for both sides — Ekitiké squandered a good chance, while Alisson stopped Eberechi Eze. Palace did not stop threatening, and Sarr equalized with a calm finish after taking advantage of the space that was left in Liverpool’s defence.
The Eagles tried to score a winner, with Sarr once again nearly on target and substitute Justin Devenny shooting wide late on.As the match ended in a 2-2 draw, the shootout became the deciding factor. Henderson’s heroics, in particular, his saves from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott, as well as Mohamed Salah’s miss, gave Palace a 4-2 triumph on penalties and a historic trophy.
It was a flawless start to the new season for Oliver Glasner’s team, who showed their star power on par with Liverpool’s by combining resilience and clinical composure under pressure.
