Community Shield ~ Manchester United 3 Chelsea 1

zocoss

8 Aug 10, 23:53

Credit to Chelsea for trying really hard... Before Berbe's goal, it was like very pressure moment leh... Again, i found that Sturridge impressing... This guy will be future England striker very soon.

Rooney9

8 Aug 10, 23:54

I hope I dun get to see GARY Neville playing at RB in the latter stages, as he is seriously past it.

TIB657M

8 Aug 10, 23:55

It is time for youngsters to shine!!!

Rooney9

8 Aug 10, 23:57

I think smalling will be good in a few seasons time. he is now learning the trade and how to soak up pressure playing for a team like united. heng is vidic not leaving united.

SGporkz

8 Aug 10, 23:58

yea... daniel is not bad... probably the best team B player in chelsea...

i still remb his goal against ajax some weeks ago.

essisen pass v nice ( just before their goal )

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:01

scholes played well. I think he should be the man of the match. hope he play well this season.

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:02

glory glory man united.........wembley wembley........

SGporkz

9 Aug 10, 00:03

so chelsea is on a losing streak... hopefully they get better when season start..

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:05

owen contract end this year rite? dunno if fergie want to renew his contract or not.

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:08

first blood to united....always good to beat chelsea............hope this is a good omen for the season.

zocoss

9 Aug 10, 00:11

Somehow this new host is not very good... John Dykes or that Football channel guy can't remember his name already seems much better. This new fellow like so wooden... cha cha... rather boring the new guy.

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:13

how about poaching the Joe Morrison come take over him lol...do we get to see Joe around or next 3 years when singtel bpl rights ended.

gunner77

9 Aug 10, 00:16

McVay

9 Aug 10, 00:18

Originally posted by Rooney9:

scholes played well. I think he should be the man of the match. hope he play well this season.

Yeah, i have to agree with you. He build up the first goal for man united.

And his long range passes were sibeh accurate.

Glory Glory Man United!

Poignant

9 Aug 10, 00:19

Originally posted by Rooney9:

how about poaching the Joe Morrison come take over him lol...do we get to see Joe around or next 3 years when singtel bpl rights ended.

joe morrison everything also newcastle one

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 00:21

united this season reminds me of 1999, when they have 4 strikers. this season united got 5 strikers lol. awesome

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 01:04

Wayne Rooney put his World Cup torment behind him to set Manchester United on their way to an impressive Community Shield 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Wembley.

Although Rooney could not get his name on the scoresheet against the Double winners, it was the striker who was so out of touch in South Africa that created United's opener with a brilliant cross to set up Antonio Valencia.

New-boy Javier Hernandez marked his competitive debut with an immensely fortuitous second and, although Salomon Kalou pulled one back, Dimitar Berbatov's fine injury-time finish allowed United to collect the trophy for a record 18th time.

Together with Paul Scholes, Rooney terrorised the Chelsea defence at times during an entertaining opening period in which both sides could have claimed the lead before United eventually did.

Branislav Ivanovic came closest for Chelsea when he climbed above Serbian team-mate Nemanja Vidic to reach Florent Malouda's free-kick and angled a header towards the corner that brought a fine save out of veteran United keeper Edwin Van der Sar.

The Dutchman's inability to hold a long-range Nicolas Anelka effort earlier in the contest had led to a clear sight of goal for Salomon Kalou.

But from an acute angle, Kalou instead turned the ball back into the six-yard box, which was vacant of both United defenders and his own attackers.

United took a bit longer to get going. Yet it quickly became apparent Scholes was going to take some stopping.

Fabio Capello will not be the only England manager to lament the midfielder's retirement. Steve McClaren felt exactly the same way. But the Italian will continue to wonder what might have been if Scholes had been given longer than a couple of hours to decide on a last-minute offer to head for South Africa.

His calmness in possession and the accuracy of his passing mean, even at 35, he is very hard to subdue.

One cleverly disguised pass set Rooney up for a shot that just evaded the far post and Scholes was also the inspiration behind a Michael Owen cross that forced Ivanovic into a hurried clearance.

But it was the brilliant cross-field ball for Rooney, delivered from inside his own half that did the real damage.

Sensing there was little danger as he jogged behind his brother in ignominy, Terry offered Rooney the room with which to execute a perfect first-time cross, drilled right into the heart of Chelsea's penalty area. Only Valencia read Rooney's intentions and the Ecuador man gleefully tapped past Henrique Hilario.

It was the kind of moment that proved Rooney is right to be lauded, while at the same time leaving his World Cup performances, particularly the awful one against Algeria, totally inexplicable.

Rooney's 45-minute cameo gave way to new-boy Hernandez, whose pace alone unsettles defenders and who came so close to releasing fellow substitute Berbatov with a sublime reverse pass after initially being picked out by that man Scholes.

Everything about Hernandez's move from Mexico so far has been positive. The one fear was, rather like Diego Forlan, whose otherwise stellar career will be scarred by those 27 games he took to score for the Red Devils, the man dubbed Chicharito would take too long to get off the mark.

But the kind of goal Forlan would have killed for, a mis-hit shot that ricocheted into his face, bounced into the Chelsea net from Valencia's cross 14 minutes from time.

It was harsh on Chelsea, who had just gone close through Kalou, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole.

Kalou did eventually beat Van der Sar but a frenetic spell of attacking failed to bring further reward and Berbatov's deft lob from Nani's cross ended any hope of a comeback.

Rooney9

9 Aug 10, 01:19

Chelsea 1 United 3

United landed the first blow in the battle of the Premier League heavyweights at Wembley to lift the season’s first silverware, as Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov gave the Reds an ultimately convincing win in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Sir Alex’s men were by far the better side in an entertaining first half, while Chelsea edged a slower-paced second 45 minutes. But the quality of United’s finishing decided it. Valencia’s beautifully-crafted first-half effort, Hernandez’s comically deflected effort and Berbatov’s wonderful, lofted effort late on secured the shield.

It may be the dawn of a new season, but Sir Alex continues to conjure selection surprises. When his teamsheet landed at quarter past two at Wembley, everyone was surprised to see Michael Carrick’s name alongside Paul Scholes in central midfield. Just two days earlier, the United boss said Carrick would miss the start of the season with an ankle injury.

United fans keen to see the Reds’ summer signings Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez would have to wait. Both players were named among a strong set of substitutes that also included, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and Darren Fletcher.

Sir Alex was keen to use the game to further the match sharpness of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Ji-sung Park – who saw their first action of the summer in Ireland. But one noticeable aspect when you consider the players left out, is the strength of United’s squad. Wes Brown, Rafael, Tom Cleverley, Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda were all left out, seemingly by choice. While Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Anderson and Gabriel Obertan are on their way back to full fitness, which bodes well for the season ahead.

There is often very little to choose between United and Chelsea – the last two Community Shield encounters have gone to penalties (winning one apiece) - and although the Reds were more positive and dominant early on, and at times there was no change to that dynamic. The game started with more speed and energy than a match this early in the campaign has any right to produce. United were strong in the tackle, and in possession, and had the first real opening when Scholes – on top form, dictating play – blazed a volley from Valencia’s right-wing cross over the bar on eight minutes.

Chelsea weren’t far behind in registering their first effort. Nicolas Anelka stung the palms of Edwin van der Sar with a shot from distance. From there, the game continued to see-saw; Ivanovic’s header forced a fine fingertip save from United’s Dutch goalkeeper after 15 minutes, before Scholes’ lofted pass beat the off-side trap to find Rooney, who couldn’t quite tuck his shot on the turn inside the far post. Six minutes before the end of an entertaining first half, Owen’s lofted cross was nearly turned into his own net by Ivanovic’s desperate diving header.

But it was United who always looked liked breaking the deadlock. And on 41 minutes it arrived. Unsurprisingly, Scholes got the move going with a raking 50-yard ball for Rooney to chase down the right flank. United’s no.10 somehow picked a route for his pinpoint cross to Valencia through John Terry’s legs, and the Reds winger gleefully smashed the ball past Hilario to give Sir Alex’s men a fully-deserved half-time lead.

There were many positives to take from the opening 45 minutes. Carrick was at his finest, Scholes ran the show, Rooney and Valencia looked sharp - and overall United were the better team. But Sir Alex stuck with the plan to make changes at the break. Hernandez came on to make his competitive debut in place of Ji-sung Park, while Berbatov and Nani joined him as Rooney and Owen made way.

There's no hiding that Chelsea – going for it with Didier Drogba and Danny Sturridge coming on for John Obi Mikel and Nicolas Anelka - upped their game and began to press forward more than they had done before half-time. But they were mostly limited to efforts from distance in a second half that naturally lost some of its zip and vigour.

That said, this had always looked like being United’s day. And the Reds took a major step towards victory in bizarre fashion 15 minutes from time. Valencia, as he had done all afternoon, made Ashley Cole look slow and cumbersome, racing onto O’Shea’s flighted pass down the line. The Ecuadorian then picked out Chicharito inside the six-yard box, but the Mexican’s shot deflected off his own face and into the net to make it 2-0.

Chelsea grabbed a goal back with seven minutes remaining when van der Sar parried Sturridge’s left-footed shot into the path of Kalou, who rifled the ball in at the near post. It set up a tense finish, but United landed a final, conclusive blow when subsitutes Nani and Berbatov combined to kill off the game in style. The Portuguese’s flicked pass was the last of 18 passes to create space for a sumptuous chip from his Bulgarian team-mate. The Community Shield may not carry much weight in the honours list come the end of the season, but this confidence-boosting performance bodes well for the campaign ahead.