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(Credit: Imago)

Jonathan Burnett

Mon 11 August 2025 18:23, UK

Liverpool were hampered by an out-of-sorts Virgil van Dijk and the absence of Ryan Gravenberch in their Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones started at the base of Arne Slot‘s midfield at Wembley as Florian Wirtz made his official Liverpool debut in the number 10 role, as one of several new additions in the XI.

Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong also made their debuts on the flanks of Slot’s defence and Hugo Ekitike led the line up front, as both the Frenchman and Frimpong got on the scoresheet at Wembley.

Gravenberch‘s omission from the matchday squad was a noteworthy talking point prior to kick-off, only for Slot to confirm that the Liverpool midfielder’s absence was due to his partner giving birth.

Liverpool target Marc Guehi lifted the Community Shield (Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)

Gravenberch could be set for a struggle to re-claim his place in the team after Jones put in a metronomic performance at Wembley, but Liverpool’s deficiencies were much clearer up front and in central defence.

Ekitike’s withdrawal in the 71st minute left them without a focal point as Palace equalised to make it 2-2 before winning 3-2 on penalties, with Van Dijk beaten far too easily for Ismaila Sarr’s second-half strike.

The Liverpool captain was one of their poorer performers in Sunday’s defeat and posted on Instagram (11 August) with a message to Reds fans, vowing to improve ahead of their Premier League opener.

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Gravenberch was one of several Liverpool players to like Van Dijk’s message, which said: “First of all, congratulations to Crystal Palace.

I can’t wait to be back at Anfield!

Football Insider Verdict

Van Dijk will be expected to recover quickly from his Community Shield display once Liverpool are back into the swing of the Premier League, as they kick of their title defence against Bournemouth on Friday.

However, given Palace captain Marc Guehi was the man to lift the shield after being one of Liverpool’s top defensive transfer targets throughout the summer, Slot may well have had his eyes on the future.

At 34, Van Dijk’s final seasons at Anfield are on the horizon, and after Paul Robinson told Football Insider that Liverpool could be “unbeatable” with Guehi in their backline, now is as good a time as ever for the Reds to complete a deal for the Eagles’ captain.

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