Five top players who scored a debut goal in the Community Shield | OneFootball

The Community Shield is not the most glamourous event in football, but it often plays host to major signings making their debut – and sometimes even getting a goal.

This Sunday, Crystal Palace and Liverpool meet at Wembley where both sides will potentially hand new players their first appearances.

Florian Wirtz could do so after completing his £116m record switch to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, as could new teammates Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

Palace have been quieter in the market, but the contest could see first outings for Borna Sosa and Walter Benitez.

The 2025/26 curtain raiser is the perfect opportunity for new signings to make an impact and follow the example set by a number of players in the past by scoring a debut goal in this fixture.

Five players who scored a debut goal in the Community Shield

Ruud van Nistelrooy – Man Utd vs Liverpool, 2001

Ruud van Nistelrooy was set to be Manchester United’s club record signing in 2000, but the transfer was put on ice after he ruptured his ACL. He didn’t sign for the Red Devils until the following summer, but it was worth the wait for fans.

Some superb one-touch football was finished off by the Dutch striker, who rounded a flailing Sander Westerveld to score the first of many goals for the club.

It was his compatriot who had the last laugh however, as the goalkeeper picked up the Man of the Match on the way to lifting the Community Shield trophy for Liverpool.

Van Nistelrooy, who went on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup during his time at Old Trafford, will be in the dugout on Saturday as part of Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff.

Gilberto Silva – Arsenal vs Liverpool, 2002

Fresh from winning the World Cup with Brazil, Gilberto Silva made an instant impact for Arsenal after joining the club from Atletico Mineiro in the summer of 2002.

The midfielder made a perfectly timed run into the box to meet Dennis Bergkamp’s cutback, slotting the ball past Jerzy Dudek for the only goal of the game.

Silva went on to be a key cog in the Invincibles side that won the Premier League while going an entire season unbeaten. He also picked up two FA Cup winners medals and another Community Shield before joining Panathinaikos in 2008.

Read – The best Community Shield goals you probably forgot about

Andriy Shevchenko – Chelsea vs Liverpool, 2006

What is it with Premier League players scoring on their debut against Liverpool in the Community Shield?

Andriy Shevchenko took his cue from Van Nistelrooy and Silva by finding the net against the Reds at the Millennium Stadium, and in some style too. A perfectly weighted chip over the top from Frank Lampard found the Ukrainian in behind the backline, before cooly finishing past Pepe Reina.

Unfortunately for Chelsea fans it was not a sign of things to come, as Shevchenko scored just four Premier League goals in his debut season. This was not the world beater we had seen at AC Milan.

Liverpool won this particular bout, lifting the Shield for the 15th time in their history.

Read – Five of the best Community Shield games ever

Julian Alvarez and Darwin Nunez – Man City vs Liverpool, 2022

Liverpool feature yet again, but this time they have a debutant of their own finding the net for the first time.

The game was in the balance after Julian Alvarez cancelled out Trent Alexander-Arnold’s opener midway through the second half. The Argentine poked the ball home from close range on his first competitive appearance for Manchester City.

Mo Salah regained the advantage from the penalty spot before Darwin Nunez sealed the victory with a header deep into injury time.

The Uruguayan international had just signed for the Merseyside outfit from Benfica for €75 million fee plus €25m in add-ons. The inconsistent forward struggled to prove he was quite worth that price tag and moved to Al-Hilal this summer after three seasons at Anfield.

Read – What convinced Man Utd to spend £74m on Benjamin Sesko transfer

Read Also – The five favourites to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or

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