The Community Shield 2025 - What did we learn?

Well, as usual, not that much. It's the first 'competitive' match of the year, but it's still only pre-season. The Premier League competition is a whole different beast.

Both teams put out what looked like a 'full-strength' side, a fair indication of how they're likely to line up next weekend (unless Liverpool have poached any more top players from other clubs before then....). The Liverpool new boys all looked quite sharp. And it seemed to be quite an entertaining game, open and often end-to-end, with several good chances for both sides.

Some of The Sheep are already bleating nervously about Salah having scuffed his only decent chance on goal straight at the keeper, and then skying the opening penalty in the climactic shootout. But that's nonsense; he had a pretty decent game. 

If anyone were giving slight cause for concern, I'd say it might be Wirtz, who, apart from feeding Ekitike on the edge of the box for the opening goal, appeared fairly anonymous in the match - at least on the fairly brief highlights I've been able to find so far. I don't have too many concerns about his long-term impact, but I've always feared it might take him a while to settle in and find his feet in the new team - and he might thus not be a great pick for the initial squad.

In fact, it was ultimately the 'smaller' side who looked more hungry for it, and provided the most eye-catching performances. Mateta, Sarr, Wharton, and, of course, Henderson in goal, were all absolutely outstanding.

That might be the major takeaway from the game for early FPL contemplation. Folks who were feeling pretty set on the idea of trebling up on Liverpool, with picks like Alisson, Frimpong (don't get too excited about his goal: it was a complete fluke!), Van Dijk, Macallister, Wirtz, Gakpo, and even Ekitike heading up many people's shopping lists,... might now be thinking about Henderson, Munoz, Guehi, Wharton, Eze, Sarr, and Mateta instead.

EDIT: My man Adam Clery was very quick to put out an excellent video dissecting why Palace were ultimately so much better in this game than Liverpool. This is the kind of thing that I think is essential preparation before beginning to make any decisions about this season's FPL squad.

But it's still really too early to be thinking about any of that. (New injury news is emerging daily. And there are still a few big transfer stories unfolding....)

Just find some highlights of the game to enjoy - and then chill out a bit longer. DEADLINE DAY is Friday: that's when you should pick your opening squad.