Published: 12:35, 30 July 2022 | Updated: 12:35, 30 July 2022
The Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser for the new Premier League season.
For many, it is much more than a pre-season friendly: it is a competitive fixture with a trophy – one which managers often count in their personal hauls – as the reward.
But it has also become somewhat of an omen ahead of the Premier League campaign.
Analysis conducted by Sportsmail shows only one team, Manchester City in 2018, have gone on to lift the Premier League title after winning the Community Shield in the last 11 years.
Manchester City and Liverpool are set to renew their rivalry in the Community Shield
Leicester claimed the pre-season prize in 2021 after beating City 1-0 thanks to a late penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho.
Yet it proved to be a fleeting moment of joy for Brendan Rodgers’ side as they struggled in the league last term, finishing a disappointing ninth and failing to qualify for any European competition.
Leicester were the latest to fall victim to the Community Shield curse, a fate City and Liverpool will be hoping to avoid when they clash at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Stretching back more than 20 years to 2001, only six teams have won the title after lifting the Community Shield.
Leicester won the 2021 Community Shield but could only finish ninth in the league last season
The winners of the season-opener did go on to top the pile for four consecutive campaigns between 2007-08 and 2010-11, with Manchester United – once a staple of the Community Shield – clinching the trophy on three occasions.
But since United swept aside Chelsea at Wembley in 2010, only City have followed suit, a remarkable statistic that may just play on the minds of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
So: will the result of the clash involving City and Liverpool have a bearing on the destination of the title?
Well, pre-season can often be a red herring and not every team treats the Community Shield as seriously as the likes of Jose Mourinho, who famously counted it when he claimed he won three trophies in his first season at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola says ‘many teams’ – not just Liverpool – could challenge his defending champions
Sides may still be bedding new players in when the curtain-raiser comes around and are not always able to field a fully-fit starting XI.
Klopp, in typical fashion, has already lowered expectations. The German said this week that he believes the Community Shield has been scheduled too early for a Liverpool team who didn’t finish last season until the end of May.
The Liverpool boss has vowed to take the game seriously because he has never won it. But he says that thought should be given to flexibility over the weekend on which it is played, given his team competed in the Champions League final in Paris on May 28.
‘If you win it, it is a very important competition. If you lose it then it becomes less important,’ he said.
Jose Mourinho counted the Community Shield in his haul of three trophies at United
For Guardiola, he seemed to suggest the victor in Saturday’s clash between the two dominant teams in English football in recent years will not have that great a bearing on the title race as there are ‘many’ sides who could occupy top spot come the end of the season.
‘I don’t know, I promise you, if I was able to predict the future I’d let you know,’ Guardiola said.
‘Normally in Premier League there are many teams and you expect that.’
Guardiola’s City have contested four of the last five Community Shields, winning two and losing two.
Last year’s defeat to Leicester was followed by City securing the biggest prize in the domestic game 10 months later. Guardiola would no doubt snap your hand off for the same outcome this season – even if that means losing to Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday.
City lost the 2021 Community Shield but won the title on a dramatic final day in May
When has the Community Shield winner won the Premier League?
Community Shield winner Premier League winner 2001-02 Liverpool Arsenal 2002-03 Arsenal Manchester United 2003-04 Manchester United Arsenal 2004-05 Arsenal Chelsea 2005-06 Chelsea Chelsea 2006-07 Liverpool Manchester United 2007-08 Manchester United Manchester United 2008-09 Manchester United Manchester United 2009-10 Chelsea Chelsea 2010-11 Manchester United Manchester United 2011-12 Manchester United Manchester City 2012-13 Manchester City Manchester United 2013-14 Manchester United Manchester City 2014-15 Arsenal Chelsea 2015-16 Arsenal Leicester 2016-17 Manchester United Chelsea 2017-18 Arsenal Manchester City 2018-19 Manchester City Manchester City 2019-20 Manchester City Liverpool 2020-21 Arsenal Manchester City 2021-22 Leicester Manchester City
