A Peter Crouch header 10 minutes from time gave FA Cup winners Liverpool a 2-1 win over lacklustre Premier League champions Chelsea in the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

Crouch's goal from a cross by summer signing Craig Bellamy deservedly secured the Shield outright for the 10th time for Liverpool. They have shared it five times.

Liverpool went ahead in the ninth minute with a low, 25 metre John-Arne Riise shot that somehow eluded keeper Carlo Cudicini and looked far more together than the Londoners.

The one bright spot for Chelsea was a confident performance by £30 million sterling striker Andriy Shevchenko, who equalised in the 43rd minute with a typically predatory goal after a superb pass from Frank Lampard.

The match, featuring 10 substitutions but too few goalmouth incidents, preludes the Premier League season, which starts next weekend.