Community Shield: Five memorable encounters

Club

22 Jul 2025

Crystal Palace have the chance to start 2025/26 in the best possible way on Sunday, 10th August (15:00 BST) – by winning a trophy!

The Eagles return to Wembley three months on from ‘that’ day, with the FA Cup holders taking on the reigning Premier League champions, Liverpool to officially start the new season.

Season Ticket holders can now purchase up to three tickets per client reference number for the match at Wembley, whilst all Members can also buy for the fixture, with full information here.

It will be Palace’s first ever appearance in a match that has become a staple of the footballing calendar.

Not only is there the first trophy of the season at stake, the traditional curtain-raiser has also produced some titanic encounters in the past.

Although it will be new ground for Palace – previous Community Shields from years gone do give an indication of what to expect at Wembley.

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Debutants can win – 1975

Palace may yet to experience this fixture, but history shows that is no barrier to winning.

The modern era of the Community Shield (then known as the Charity Shield) began with the move to Wembley in the 1974 and the following year saw a team win the competition on their debut.

Derby County triumphed at the national stadium, with the old First Division champions defeating FA Cup holders West Ham United 2-0. Kevin Hector and Roy McFarland got the goals for Dave Mackay’s side.

A moment of genius – 1993

They may not be quite as memorable as the best FA Cup Final goals – but the Community Shield has seen some high quality strikes down the years.

One of the best came back in 1993, delivered by former Palace star Ian Wright. Leading the line for Arsenal against Manchester United, Wright’s team were trailing as the game approached half-time following an early Mark Hughes strike.

What followed was a moment of remarkable quality. Instinctively latching on to a flicked header just outside the box, Wright scored a remarkable volley on the half-turn, his finish giving Peter Schmeichel no chance.

It was a magnificent goal – and a moment that every Palace fan knew he was capable of producing on the big stage.

First time cup winners prevail – 2021

If you're looking for a good omen for the Eagles, you don’t have to go back far. Only four years ago marked the last time a first-time FA Cup winner went on to lift the Community Shield.

Like the Palace this year, Leicester City lifted the Cup for the very first time in 2021, after a 1-0 win over Chelsea, a final that draws plenty of comparisons with this year.

The Foxes followed that up by winning the Shield three months later, defeating Manchester City. With only minutes left to play substitute Kelechi Iheanacho confidently dispatched a penalty after being fouled by Nathan Ake.

Brendan Rodgers’ team held on for another Wembley success – marking the first time since 1995 that the winner wasn’t one of Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea.

The three winners since have also come from that select group. Time for another new name on the trophy?

Penalty shootout heartache – 1974

The 1974 Shield is best remembered for the dismissals of both Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan, in a feisty affair between Leeds United and Liverpool.

It was also, coincidentally, the first time the match took place at Wembley, with Brian Clough leading his Leeds players out of the tunnel during his ill-fated short reign at Elland Road.

Yet it was also marked a key point in Shield history, the first time the match was settled on a penalty shootout. This was also the first time a decent chunk of the watching television audience – and those inside Wembley – would have seen a penalty shootout, still a relatively new concept at the time.

In the end, Liverpool won the trophy after David Harvey missed Leeds’ sixth kick, after 11 other penalties were successfully converted. Bizarrely, the Shield then went back to being shared in the event of a draw after 90 minutes, until 1993 when shootouts were reintroduced.

The last two Community Shield fixtures have both been settled via a shootout – could we have another this year as Palace make their debut?

Fierce rivalry - 2003

It wasn’t just the 1974 edition that had its fair share of 'competitive spirit.' The 2003 fixture was between fierce rivals Arsenal and Manchester United – at the peak of their late nineties to early noughties rivalry.

The tone was set just 25 seconds into the contest, when United’s Phil Neville produced a remarkably late challenge on Arsenal’s Patrick Viera.

Fortunate to only receive a booking, Neville's poor tackle was a sign of things to come. When the dust settled after 90 minutes and another penalty shootout, five players had been booked as well as a red card for Arsenal’s Francis Jeffers.

Perhaps it’s not surprising when there is a trophy – and plenty of pride – at stake, all playing out at Wembley Stadium and in front of a global television audience, you can expect a hard-fought game that neither side will back down from.

Match Details

Crystal Palace v Liverpool

Sunday, 10th August
15:00 BST
FA Community Shield
Wembley Stadium
How to buy tickets.

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