Crystal Palace claimed the FA Community Shield in dramatic fashion, defeating Liverpool on penalties after fighting back from two goals down at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. 

The traditional curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season began with high tempo, with the Reds’ new signing Hugo Ekitike opening the score sheet and scoring his first goal for them with an early strike in the fourth minute, which involved a brilliant assist from Liverpool’s new No. 7, Florian Wirtz.

Palace responded quickly, capitalising on a clumsy challenge from Virgil van Dijk in the 14 minutes, as Jean-Philippe Mateta calmly slotted the spot kick home after missing a perfect opportunity to level.

Liverpool regained the lead just minutes later when debutant Jeremie Frimpong produced a stunning high cross-shot that sailed over Henderson and into the net, marking his first goal for the Merseyside club.

The Eagles took control in the 77-minute, when Senegalese forward Ismaïla Sarr fired in from 10 yards to level the score.

With the match level after 90 minutes, the shootout saw Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, and Harvey Elliott miss their spot-kicks for Liverpool.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson put on a master class once again, making two crucial saves before 21-year-old Justin Devenny stepped up to bury the winning penalty. 

Crystal Palace’s successful triumph came after winning the FA cup title against Manchester City in May, after a wonderful strike from Eberechi Eze for the club to win their first ever major trophy in 119 years.

Before kick-off, the match paid tribute to Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother, who died in a car accident. A minute’s silence was held, though it was cut short due to disturbances in the crowd.

With little time for Arne Slot’s side to reflect on their performance, Liverpool’s title defence gets underway at Anfield on Friday, hosting Bournemouth, while Palace takes an away trip to face world champions Chelsea.