Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City’s Community Shield triumph against Liverpool was the perfect preparation ahead of this season’s duel for supremacy between the Premier League rivals.
Guardiola’s side drew first blood on the eve of the new campaign with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out success after a 1-1 draw in the annual curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season.
Sunday’s prestigious friendly at Wembley showed there is virtually nothing to
separate the two teams after City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League crown
by one point last term.
Raheem Sterling put City ahead in the first half before Joel Matip’s late equaliser forced a shoot-out that Guardiola’s men won through Gabriel Jesus’s decisive kick after Claudio Bravo saved Georginio Wijnaldum’s effort.
While City swept the board with an unprecedented domestic treble last season, Liverpool recovered by winning their sixth European Cup.
Aware of the serious threat posed by Liverpool, City’s celebrations when Jesus stroked in the winning penalty showed how much they relished the opportunity to inflict an early psychological blow on their rivals.
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