Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr opened their accounts for the season as Crystal Palace beat Liverpool 3-2 on penalties in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Palace came from behind twice to hold the Reds to a 2-2 draw in normal time. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was the hero in the shoot-out, saving two spot-kicks to lead the Eagles to their maiden Community Shield triumph.
Liverpool came into the tie as Premier League champions, while Palace were the reigning FA Cup winners after beating Manchester City at the same venue three months ago. A tribute was paid to the late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota before kick-off.
The Reds lit up the fixture inside the opening four minutes, with summer signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike combining for the opener. Wirtz picked out Ekitike on the edge of the box and the Frenchman found the bottom corner to give Arne Slot’s side the lead.
Palace settled into the game and were handed a lifeline after Sarr was brought down in the box by Virgil van Dijk. The Eagles drew level through Mateta, who sent Alisson the wrong way from 12 yards.
Liverpool regained the lead in the 21st minute through Jeremie Frimpong, whose cross beat Henderson and inadvertently found its way inside the far post.
The second half restarted with Palace on top, and Oliver Glasner’s side piled the pressure on the Premier League champions in search of an early equaliser. Their persistence paid off in the 77th minute as Sarr restored parity with a composed finish after being picked out by Adam Wharton.
The Eagles felt they should have had a second penalty when substitute Alexis Mac Allister handled the ball in his own box. However, referee Chris Kavanagh, after deliberating with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), awarded only a corner kick.
Justin Devenny almost put Palace ahead for the first time, but his shot dragged just wide as the match headed to penalties.
Mohamed Salah, who endured another quiet game at Wembley, blasted his spot-kick over the crossbar, while Mateta once again beat the Liverpool goalkeeper. Henderson guessed correctly to deny Mac Allister, although Eberechi Eze also failed to beat Alisson.
Cody Gakpo and Sarr both scored, while Harvey Elliott was denied by Henderson. Borna Sosa had the chance to win it for Palace, but his effort crashed off the crossbar, allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to make it 2-2.
Devenny, however, made no mistake from 12 yards, burying his penalty past Alisson to win the game for Palace — their second trophy under Oliver Glasner.
“These emotions are fantastic.” Palace hero Dean Henderson told TNT Sports. “The manager said we’d get chances in the second half and we deserved to win that in the end
“The homework we did for the penalties was great, thank you to everyone behind the scenes. It’s incredible to beat Liverpool. Coming here they were the favourites, they have unbelievable players and are a good team. But we’ve won two trophies in three months for this club and it’s a remarkable moment in our history.”
Palace will discover on Monday the final verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on whether they will play Europa League or Conference League football next season.
They will begin the new campaign away at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on Sunday, 17 August, while Liverpool will open the 2025–26 Premier League season with a home fixture against Bournemouth at Anfield on Friday, 15 August.
