Liverpool's Curtis Jones sets unique Community Shield record amid Mohamed Salah disasterclass

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones set a unique record in the Reds' Community Shield loss to Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

Arne Slot's men may have been considered the favourites to prevail in the traditional English football curtain-raiser, but the Premier League winners were arguably deservedly beaten in the glorious sunshine.

A fourth-minute Hugo Ekitike strike on his competitive Liverpool debut set the scene for an enthralling battle, as the Frenchman's compatriot Jean-Philippe Mateta levelled from the penalty spot after Virgil van Dijk felled Ismaila Sarr.

Liverpool restored their lead in freakish fashion in the 20th minute, as while the stadium erupted in applause for the late Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, Jeremie Frimpong's cross-cum-shot flew over Dean Henderson and into the far side of the net.

However, more lackadaisical Liverpool defending allowed Sarr to level matters once again, before Palace number one Henderson made himself the hero once again from 12 yards in a 3-2 shootout win.

Liverpool's Jones sets new Community Shield passing record

While there was little for Liverpool to cheer at full time, midfielder Jones earned the consolation prize of a new English football record.

The midfielder did not misplace a single one of his 53 passes at Wembley, the most amount of passes a player has ever made in a Community Shield with a 100% record since data became available in 2004-05.

Jones benefitted from Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister's absences from the first XI to start alongside Dominik Szoboszlai; the former was missing due to the birth of his child while Mac Allister was only a second-half substitute.

However, Jones's unparalleled feat could not prevent Liverpool from a slice of unwanted history, as the Reds suffered two losses at Wembley in the same calendar year for the first time ever.

Slot also presided over a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United in last season's EFL Cup final, as the Reds missed out on the chance to draw level with Arsenal on 17 Community Shield successes.

How did Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah perform in Community Shield?

After making a positive impression in pre-season, Liverpool's record signing Florian Wirtz ran the show in the first half, setting up Ekitike's strike and creating more chances than any other player in the opening 45.

The £116m man fashioned four opportunities in total, but he also failed with both of his dribble attempts, conceded two fouls and faded in the second half before being replaced by Harvey Elliott.

Nevertheless, Wirtz's display was still significantly superior to Mohamed Salah's, as the Egyptian endured one of his poorest performances for Liverpool in recent memory.

Salah had just one shot in the entire game - firing straight at Henderson - did not create a single chance and also lost 100% of his duels, four on the ground and two in the air.

The winger's wild penalty at the start of the shootout compounded a miserable afternoon both individually and collectively, but there is no way of knowing whether such a disaster-class was a one-off or the indication of a potential decline.