Manchester City’s Loss to Liverpool Could be a Blessing in Disguise

The first trophy of the season; the curtain raiser has been lost and won. Manchester City lost. Liverpool won. And based on the balance of play, the Reds deserved their 3-1 win. They wanted it more. With wave upon wave of attack from the get-go, they got their first goal early into the encounter and they never looked back.

Erling Haaland cut a frustrated figure in the end. His point-blank miss that hit the upright towards the end of the game providing a fitting summary of his day on the pitch. It was the direct opposite for his opposite number in the Liverpool attack - Darwin Nunez.

The Liverpool man was over the moon as he helped his new side beat a bitter rival to hand him his first piece of silverware with the club. His celebration was like that of someone who just scored the winning goal in the final of the World Cup or the UEFA Champions League. And you can understand why.

But having failed the first test of the season this could provide several lessons for manager Pep Guardiola and his players. Three seasons ago when Liverpool fell short of winning the Premier League title by a single point, they went ahead the next season to beat City comfortably to the title.

History could repeat itself, unless the players take this as a warning sign and gear up to prevent history repeating itself.

The pain of losing the Community Shield, especially to Liverpool, should drive the players to maintain their level of performance in the last two campaigns or even raise their game.

One thing is certain; Liverpool and the other top teams in the league will be looking to take out the Blues. In fact, City is the team to beat for every team in the Premier League. Beating City for some will be like winning the league itself.

Manager Guardiola sought to refresh his squad with some new signings, in order to keep the hunger in the side. That hunger will be needed in the course of the campaign if the loss to Liverpool is to be made one of only a few.

The defeat should serve as a wake-up call. That resting on their oars could be the biggest mistake the players make in the new campaign.

Another routine win would have made it look easy, which could easily lead to complacency. But with the loss comes the reminder that anything can happen and the team can be left empty-handed in the end if the players don’t keep their feet on the throttle.

In that sense this defeat could serve as a much-needed blessing heading into the campaign. Just like the loss to Leicester last time in the season’s curtain raiser.