Claudio Bravo’s desperate saves ensured that the match had to go to a penalty shootout where he proved to be the hero yet again.
Manchester City players celebrate during the presentation of the trophy after winning the English FA Community Shield football match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in north London on August 4, 2019. (Photo by Ian KINGTON / AFP)
It was Manchester City who emerged victorious in the Community Shield match at Wembley in a match that could have gone either way. Manchester City’s goalkeeper Claudio Bravo turned out to be their saviour as he saved the match deciding goal during the penalty shootout after the match had ended in a 1-1 draw.
Notably, this was Manchester City’s second successive Community Shield win in two years after they had clinched the match in 2018 beating Chelsea 2-0.
Manchester City were undoubtedly the best team on display in the first-half of the match even after they lost their star player Leroy Sane to injury. Raheem Sterling opened the scoreline with a goal which gave Manchester City the much-deserved lead. This was Sterling’s first goal against his former club in as many as 11 appearances.
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However, in the second-half, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool came back as a much improved unit. It was not just a coincidence that Joel Matip scored the equaliser for Liverpool but a result of some brilliant counter attacking football. For a brief period in the match, it seemed like the Reds would finish ahead in the match
However, Claudio Bravo’s desperate saves ensured that the match had to go to a penalty shootout where he proved to be the hero yet again saving Georginio Wijnaldum’s shot at the goal which meant that Gabriel Jesus’s goal sealed a 5-4 win for Manchester City on penalties.
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