The Community Shield Curse

The fans of English football sit waiting in anticipation of this season’s inauguration on Sunday, as Premier League champions Liverpool will face FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in this year's Community Shield. But this might be one trophy that neither team will want to win; it has been a number of seasons since the team that have lifted the Shield have gone on to have a successful campaign. Allow me to take you through the recent history of the Community Shield, and why some fans think teams are better off losing it.

2018/19 - Manchester City

Manchester City’s unprecedented domestic treble (quadruple if you include the Shield) was the last time a Community Shield winner went on to have a successful season. City defeated Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea 2-0, courtesy of two goals from Sergio Agüero, before going on to achieve what Alex Ferguson once believed impossible, winning all three of the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup in a single season.

2019/20 - Manchester City

This is where the ‘curse’ begins; Manchester City won the Community Shield for a second year in a row. Unlike the previous season, however, things would not go swimmingly for the club following their victory over Liverpool on penalties. This season would see Pep Guardiola’s men relinquish their title over to the very team that they defeated, as Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool won their first league title since 1990. City would retain their Carabao Cup, but that could not change the fact that by their very high standards, this would be one of the lowest points of Guardiola’s time at the club. Indeed, and somewhat incredibly in retrospect, heading into the following season there were many questions over how long the Catalan would remain at the club and if he would be able to return the club to the summit.

2020/21 - Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge at Arsenal would open with their somewhat surprising victory over Liverpool, in a score exactly mirroring the previous season’s Community Shield; 1-1 and then a 5-4 victory on penalties. Just as his former club Manchester City had the year before, Arteta’s Gunners would reach a low point in the subsequent season. They failed to win any trophies, including a Europa League semi-final loss to Villarreal, managed by Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery. They also finished 8th in the Premier League for the second season in a row, and as such for the first time since 1995, Arsenal failed to qualify for any European competition. While Arteta still faces questions about Arsenal’s more recent fortunes, this was unquestionably the lowest point of his time at the club so far.

2021/22 - Leicester City

It is somewhat hard to believe that just five years ago, Leicester City were lifting the Community Shield over champions Manchester City following a 1-0 win. Even harder to believe perhaps is that they qualified for the match by winning the previous season’s FA Cup. As things are now, with Leicester relegated to the Championship for the second time in three seasons, it might seem strange to call an 8th place finish poor, especially as it was coupled by a Conference League semi-final berth. But Leicester finished the previous two seasons 5th, qualifying for Europe, and dropping to 8th also meant an end to their two years of European journeys. Given the financial troubles that have plagued the club ever since, it is hard not to view this regression as the first domino in a chain that would, just one season later, see the 2016 Premier League Champions relegated.

2022/23 - Liverpool

Liverpool met Manchester City in the Community Shield for the first time since 2019, but this time the roles were reversed (in more ways than one). Liverpool won the game 3-1, in a match that saw Darwin Núñez score and Erling Haaland miss an open goal. In many ways, the match could not have been a worse depiction of the season to come; Liverpool would struggle massively and fell to 5th in the table, failing to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2016. City, on the other hand, would go on to win a treble, matching their city rivals achievement of 1999, as Haaland broke numerous goalscoring records. It is somewhat unfathomable looking back how opposite the Shield was to the outcome of the season.

2023/24 - Arsenal

Mikel Arteta won his second Community Shield as Arsenal manager, defeating his former club Manchester City on penalties. While Arsenal would go on to have a decent season, this was where the club’s inability to get over the line and win a major trophy became a real sticking point for fans and the media. While they also didn’t win anything the season prior, they had not been considered favourites to when the season began. But by the start of 2023/24, they were fully expected to be major challengers across all competitions, so their failure to win the league or even advance past the quarterfinals of any competition led to significant scrutiny being put on Arteta’s work at Arsenal.

⏪ On this day in 2023...

We beat Manchester City on penalties to win the Community Shield 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Gcd8FYbsg8

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 6, 2025

2024/25 - Manchester City

I think no single fact epitomises the curse better than this; Manchester City, following three straight years of losses, and for the first time since 2019, won the Community Shield. And just like the previous victory, the subsequent season would see the club relinquish their title, held for an unprecedented four straight seasons, to Liverpool, now under Arne Slot. Even more than that, a disastrous season saw the club only qualify for Champions League on the final day, lose a second straight FA Cup final, and be on the end of a number of embarrassing losses, including a 4-0 defeat at home against a Tottenham team that finished the league in 17th, a 5-1 loss at the Emirates, and a 6-3 aggregate loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Conclusion

Obviously, there is no literal curse on the Community Shield. But the fact remains that for six straight seasons, since an ‘impossible’ feat was achieved by the winner, winning the season’s curtain raiser has been a bad omen. Perhaps this year will be different, whoever wins on Sunday will go on to have a stellar year, but if not, the shadow over the competition will loom even larger this time next year. If nothing else, it is certainly an interesting narrative to watch develop over the coming season.