Community Shield; an end to the 16 years drought

The first potential silverware of the season; the Community Shield. A familiar foe. New faces, on both sides. Yet, grueling with the same anticipatory feeling, Liverpool lines up against Manchester City in the King Power Stadium; home of Leicester City, the former holder of the Shield. A trophy that, while kick offs a season, is also one we have lost to City through penalties before.

Poetry In Motion, Reds kicks off this new season of 2022-2023 with the first post-match review of the Community Shield. The two best teams in England, if not in the world, battled it out this Saturday.

Liverpool Football Club is not just a club; it’s a way of life. For those who say that football can sometimes be a question of life and death; well to Liverpudlians, scouse and foreign, it means more than just that. The King Power Stadium echoed You’ll Never Walk Alone on the 30th of July. The Red men walked, and behind them, the Kopites rose. A new season was to start. In a way, the domestic league will be forthcoming but before that, one business lay waiting.

It was Manchester City, a shield that escaped our hands too many times and it was the world watching.

For the first twenty minutes, the men of Jurgen Klopp were all chaos.

Thiago Alcantara, a magician in his right, played in the midfield like nobody else. Fabinho and his passes that could cut through lasers; one had almost made it to Mohamed Salah who lay in waiting for a masterclass of a performance. Jordan Henderson stormed forward more as the minutes played. The Skipper was not resting a minute; as he hoofed it up like Hendo as the Twitter scams like to say. Joel Matip and Virgil van Dijk held a stronger line than I have ever seen them hold as the full-backs, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold ran riot on the wing.

In the front line, Luis Diaz seemed to drop deep and sway forward and back and again. Manchester City right-back, Kyle Walker, struggled to manage his pace. Not to forget; those who know football, know Bobby Firmino is the ultimate player. There is always magic when he plays his happy football with the collective rest.

However, I will have a special mention put out for the one who stood in the lilac jersey between the goalposts. Both our first and second-choice goalkeepers are out due to injury. While Alisson seems to progress his way closer to starting, no words have been said about Kelleher. Yet, Adrian kept us safe tonight. It is easy for us behind our screens to scrutinize and yet, all these players are coached in the trusted hands of John Achtenberg and company.

Jurgen Klopp is the manager of Liverpool Football Club but he is the heart of what Liverpool stands for. Once it was Bill Shankly, then Sir Paisley, and many other great men came after. Jurgen Norbert Klopp is on that list. He is one of us.

It was a red doom impending on Manchester City who while looked dangerous, lacked that sharp edge that we had over them, and then…

It was Trent. A moment of magic. But do not let it all take away. It was first and foremost the patience of a red invasion. Passes and pressure and again. I sat on my seat with my mum next to me and like before, it was a familiar scene. The Redmen had cornered the opponent in their own half and played with their feeling. Passes from full-back to centre-back and then another full-back to the winger and a subtle pass from Mohamed Salah to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Would we call him an unlikely hero? Trent Alexander-Arnold is just our usual assister. A defender risen through the mass of critics. A boy who wore red all his life. It was Trent and it was the 21st minute. He loves to score at Leicestershire.

The once boy whose dream just came true, now a man with his long hair, scores a belter from outside the box. A scouser born and bred silences the Man City crowd with a celebration to shush them for the ages to come. Bend it like Trent, they wished he played for them as does Pep. The screen focuses on his face and we wonder, the greatest achievement of Jurgen Klopp is the worst nightmare of Josep Guardiola.

That was only the first half. Then came the second.

The second half had started at the same tempo the first half had ended; with Manchester City finding their stride. They started looking stronger with each completed pass and Liverpool failed to hold possession. The midfield of Thiago, Henderson, and Fabinho showed signs of fatigue. Many forget that it is only the start of the season and both teams had less time for preparation.

For a few minutes, it looked as if City would score. Their chances piled up and yet, our defense held. Until it crumbled. Adrian saves the first shot with a block and in spite of having both hands on the ball, it slips towards the foot of new boy signing Julian Alvarez from Manchester City who bangs it in the net. He celebrates a few minutes after VAR confirms the credibility of the goal. The 70th-minute equalizer and the Sky Blue end screams in celebration. Domination in possession, highest shots on target, and compiling chances; who wouldn’t believe their chance of winning if all possibilities leaned in their favor?

Yet, football is a funny thing.

The 58th minute, Jurgen Klopp makes a change. Darwin Nunez, a boy from Uruguay. Sleeves inked and a right leg of art, hair in a ponytail, he looks sleek. First half, he sat on the bench with his shirt at the ready right in front of him. He had that look in his eyes; it burned with envy looking at those playing. So many faces comes in and goes at Liverpool Football Club. Some are legends forever worshipped and sang and some are beloved but above all, all of them knows that it is an honor to wear the Liverbird on your chest.

Manchester City equalized on the 70th minute, and while, Pep brings the new boy back to his line with instructions to impede his happiness of scoring his first club goal, Darwin had other ideas brewing. Liverpool stayed put in their defense and focused. Not an ounce of concentration lowered and then, one moment, that is all it took. A ball thrown to his head on a counter and Darwin lept. The ball curved but before it ended in the nets, it landed in Man City Goalkeeper Ederson’s gloves. How? It should have been a ball.

The play goes on but there is uproar; the Kopites screaming and Darwin runs to the ref. Look at the screen ref, Ruben Dias is guilty of a handball. A few minutes in and rightfully so, Craig Pawson admits the incident. Mohamed Salah steps up, in spite of James Milner on the field. Ball in hand, concentrated eyes downcast. Ederson tries playing mind games but in between them steps Thiago. Liverpool FC is not a brilliance of individuality but a collective 11 helping and battling for a win. When Mo steps out of the box, breathed and ran, the whole of the red end screams. Never in doubt, Mohamed Salah celebrates his new contract with another goal that gains us the lead. Yet, it was not how the story end.

The crowd screamed the new boy’s name; not Erling Braut Haaland, or Julian Alvarez. No, it was Nunez. You see, there is a beauty that comes with Liverpool Football Club. Every story is a love affair. The Uruguayan flag was on the stand. And Darwin, Darwin was never gonna give. Fabio Carvalho with a block wins back the ball, cuts toward Mohamed Salah who sends it to Andrew Robertson. Our Scottish Braveheart leaps through the air almost turning his back and Darwin Nunez, young boy signing of too much money as the critics love to point out, adjusts his stance and heads the ball in.

3-1 Liverpool.

Darwin Nunez celebrates with his shirt off and while that earned him a yellow, what truly caught our eyes was what he did before he wore the red jersey again. He tapped on the Liverbird. He knows who he play for.

The new season starts in 7 days. Poetry in Motion Reds will accompany each game with a post-match review. Tune in every day after the match and hear our thoughts on the journey that we will undertake for this new season. Poetry in Motion Reds is a podcast dedicated to bring the romantic writing and the football of Liverpool Football Club together. Here, we celebrate the Liverpool Way.

Accompany us as we accompany the Redmen.

You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Written by Hanshika Heeramun