As Wembley emptied and a celebratory sea of blue headed towards the exits, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling was mingling with rival Liverpool fans on the far side of the stadium.
Some of that Reds support had booed, jeered and tormented him for 90 minutes but Sterling was signing shirts and posing for photographs.
It was a graceful gesture from a casted villain who had scored in front of the Liverpool support an hour earlier.
Sterling’s scoring contribution to Manchester City’s Community Shield penalty shootout win ended a drought of 10 games without a goal against his former club.
Since his sour departure from Anfield in July 2015 he has endured the wrath of Liverpool fans.
But his impact at Wembley ended the hoodoo he has suffered against Liverpool in recent years and at the same time suggested he can continue his mature progress on and off the pitch.
Manchester City against Liverpool forged a captivating title rivalry last season, but Sterling has his own ongoing battle with the Anfield side.
He was once their golden boy – an academy graduate with pace to burn and talent to inspire. But then he left.
It was a bad break-up and he was booed when he was awarded Liverpool’s Young Player of the Year just 24 hours after handing in a transfer request.
Liverpool fans aiming their ire at Sterling has become a common theme and perhaps he has felt it, failing to score in his previous 10 games against them.
And here again at Wembley, fans jeered when his name was read out before kick-off and every tussle with Joe Gomez drew pointed fingers from Liverpool fans behind the goal.
It took just 12 minutes for him to silence them; he poked in the opener from close range into the same net they sat behind, and he didn’t hold back on the celebrations, sprinting off to the right touchline with his arms outstretched.
His team-mates understood what it meant and every one of them embraced Sterling. He had finally been able to break a stretch of disappointment against Liverpool.
It was a stark contrast to the scenes at Anfield in January 2018 when Sterling trudged off to the sidelines after being tormented for 71 minutes, before Liverpool went on to win 4-3 in dramatic fashion.
His goal was another milestone in a career that is blossoming under Pep Guardiola at City.
The England international was instrumental to their Premier League success last season and has become an integral part of the team.
At Wembley, he lined up in a central striker’s role, a position usually reserved for Sergio Aguero.
