Man Utd Win Community Shield

It was the traditional curtain raiser to the new season and first blood went to the Premier League Champions Manchester United who won the Community Shield in front of nearly 81,000 at Wembley on Sunday. They beat the FA Cup winners Chelsea in a penalty shoot out after a 1 - 1 draw.

It was United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar who was the hero after saving three Chelsea penalties in the shoot out which left Wayne Rooney to score the decisive spot kick.

United keeper Van der Sar saved all three penalties he faced

Ryan Giggs had given Manchester Utd the lead on 35 minutes with a sweetly struck shot but Chelsea’s new signing, French winger Florent Malouda levelled the score with a fine solo goal just before half-time .

It must be said that neither side really created a clear-cut chance after the break, which meant the traditional curtain raiser had to be settled by the dreaded penalty shoot out.

Man Utd of course lost the FA Cup Final to Chelsea at Wembley back in May so Rooney’s decisive penalty was part revenge for that defeat and was the first blow in what is set to be another long hard battle for honours again this season.

United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson told the news conference, “We’ve always used it [Charity / Community Shield] as a stepping stone to the first game of the season and I’m pleased with it.

“I don’t think there was much between either side, particularly in terms of possession, but we did make the clear chances and for that reason we probably deserved to win.”

Chelsea started with an unusual line-up with their main striker Didier Drogba, captain John Terry and midfielder Claude Makelele all sidelined while Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou were also missing. Just goes to show you what a big squad Chelsea have!

Terry’s place in central defence went to the new Israeli signing Tal Ben Haim, while the gap up front was unconvincingly filled by winger Joe Cole in a very unfamiliar striking role. However, the Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was somewhat stoical about his line-up and the result, saying, “Losing is losing [very shrewd Jose!] but losing on penalties is different to losing in 90 minutes. It was the first time in my life I’ve played without a striker. The formation depends on the players you have available, you have to adapt.”

Anyway, this wasn’t as turgid a game as the Cup Final back in May, which has to go down as one of the worst games of football I think I’ve ever endured! But it did take over 20 minutes for the first chance which fell to Giggs. However his close range effort was blocked.

Chelsea tried to reply with a glancing header by the Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, but you have to say that the momentum was clearly with Man Utd at that point.

It was then United’s French defender Mikael Silvestre who just failed to connect for what would have been a tap-in at the far post, after Cristiano Ronaldo slid the ball across the face of the goal. But the breakthrough finally came just a few minutes later.

It was left back Patrice Evra who worked a neat one-two with Ronaldo before cutting the ball back into a crowded penalty area for Giggs to lash home a rising first time shot.

However, it was against the run of play that Chelsea levelled the game when Malouda broke down the left and hooked the ball round Utd defender Rio Ferdinand before steering the ball past Van der Sar.

Mourinho then sent on his recent signing Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro whilst Ferguson deployed his new Portuguese winger Nani. However, I don’t think either substitution made any impact or impression at all.

Neither team could strike the killer blow and it all went terribly wrong for Chelsea in the penalty shoot out where Van der Sar saved from Pizarro, Lampard and Wright-Phillips which nicely set up Rooney to add to the penalties already converted by Ferdinand and Carrick to wrap proceedings up with a victory for Manchester United.

[kqf=7]
[kqf=8]
The Soccer Blogger

Selected Best Posts From The Soccer Blog

• Gerrard Sees No Reason To Leave Liverpool
• Podolski weighing up options
• Soccer Tricks
• Arsenal sign midfielder Bischoff
• Middlesbrough sign striker Emnes
• Kaizer Chiefs 1-1 Man Utd
• Parry hails new Euro club group

• Soccer Fitness, Soccer Training, Soccer Skills

If you enjoy The Soccer Blog, the please don't forget to Subscribe Here

Please feel free to copy this Trackback URL on your blog for this post:
http://thesoccer-blog.com/soccer-general/man-utd-win-community-shield/trackback/

44 views this week (Brand New Feature, just introduced.)

Entering Comments

If you would like to see your photo (or gravatar) next to your comment, please simply sign up at Gravatar.com and add your picture to your email address. Our logo will appear by default next to your name should you not wish to add your photo or gravatar image to your comments.
Many thanks
Rik