Community Shield: Manchester City defeat Liverpool in English football's curtain-raiser (VIDEO)

The top two teams in English football renewed rivalries in the dress rehearsal for the English football season on Sunday, as Manchester City once again finished on top of Liverpool after a tense Community Shield encounter.

A single point separated Pep Guardiola's City side from second-placed Liverpool when the most nail-biting Premier League campaign in years concluded in May.

And, on the traditional curtain-raiser at the start of the 2019/20 season, it was the team in blue who claimed the early bragging rights.

City are once again the unanimous bookmakers' favorites to win the Premier League, but with Liverpool considered to be their presumed biggest challenger, Sunday's encounter at Wembley Stadium was considered the perfect precursor to the title race ahead.

And, judging by the evidence, the title race between the two sides looks too close to call.

City, who gave new signing Rodri his debut in midfield, started like champions, as their quick, pass-and-move style developed by Guardiola at Barcelona and perfected in Munich was on show with both Silvas, David and Bernardo, combining with canny precision.

Liverpool's back line was excellently marshalled by Ballon d'Or contender Virgil van Dijk, but even he was unable to prevent Raheem Sterling from prodding in a close range effort against his former club just after the 10-minute mark.

City's German winger Leroy Sane, who has been attracting attention from Bayern Munich, will have had the higher-ups at the Bundesliga giants concerned when he was withdrawn after just 13 minutes after an awkward landing following a challenge from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

As the game developed, Liverpool began to generate more of the attacking threat that saw them win last season's Champions League.

Van Dijk also struck the crossbar in the feverish second frame, while Mo Salah was a constant threat, striking the post and having a shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Kyle Walker in the final minutes of the game.

Liverpool's leveler came via an unexpected source, as Van Dijk's centre-half colleague Joel Matip headed home with 23 minutes remaining.

It set up a thrilling finale, and with Liverpool pressing forward constantly, the final whistle was blown as the two sides faced off in a penalty shoot-out to decide who claimed the first silverware of the new season.

Gini Wijnaldum saw his spot-kick saved by Claudio Bravo, leaving City's Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus the chance to claim the glory as he confidently tucked away his penalty to give City a 5-4 shoot-out win.

It gives City the first silverware of the new season, and perhaps a slight psychological advantage too. But the battle will kick off for real when the Premier League season gets underway next weekend.