Football Special Report: Rooney finds redemption from World Cup misery
England fans have not forgotten the dismal performance of their national side in South Africa. When two teams were pitted against each other in Wembley, England fans were intent on settling scores with the English team. The players which were targeted included the likes of Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney. Wembley crowd took great enjoyment in booing the villains of their national campaign in 2010 World Cup.
Both Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson preferred to start without the new signings, as they put their faith in old guard of their teams. Yossi Benayoun, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez started the match on the bench. However, they were later brought in the match by both coaches. For Manchester United, Michael Carrick and Michael Owen returned to the field for the first time in six months. The limelight was on Rooney, who despite having pathetic World Cup campaign was supported by English fans. He was cheered by the fans when his cameo in 21st minute bewildered the crowd in Wembley. With the brilliant combination play from Rooney and Scholes, Manchester United was able to score the first goal of the match when Antonio Valencia sliced the ball in the net. Even Ferguson praised the move which eventually culminated in the goal. He said, “Antonio could not have missed it. It was a terrific ball in.”
Rooney along with Owen was substituted in the second half for Dimitar Berbatov and Hernandez respectively. Manchester United’s latest signing Hernandez a.k.a. 'La Chicharito' showed the reason why he was transferred to Old Trafford this season by Sir Alex Ferguson. Hernandez showed his famous zest, as he controlled the ball with canny skills. He even proved his goal scoring credentials when he flicked the ball fortuitously from his head and into the Chelsea net. Commenting on young Mexican, Ferguson said, “His speed took him to the ball. He'll take that all day. I don't think he lacks in confidence and he's different from what we've got, which gives us an advantage.”
On the other hand, Chelsea was troubled from the start by their rival as they failed to maintain the possession of the ball. Cole was tested by Valencia, whereas Terry displayed performance similar to his outing in South Africa. Lampard exhibited lacklustre display of football, as he apparently lacked energy. According to Carlo Ancelotti, his players have not yet recovered from fatigue and they would require additional two weeks to be completely fit. The Italian said, “We knew it would be a difficult pre-season due to fitness-related issues.”
Even with limited resources, Chelsea showed why they are double winners of the past season, as they fought back to bring Manchester United’s lead. They were finally awarded when Salomon Kalou knocked in a rebound to score Chelsea’s first goal. In the end, it turned to be the only goal as Manchester United defence led by Vidic held Chelsea’s onslaughts. After the match, Vidic seemed satisfied by his team’s performance. Vidic, who was the captain for the match, said, “It's important to me," he told Sky Sports. "This is the last game before the season and I think we did well today. Obviously a few players didn't play a lot in pre-season and they had the chance today to build up their fitness and they did well.”
Berbatov sealed the match for Red Devils when he scored the third goal in closing minutes of the match. Bulgarian, who had an awful last season, will be hoping to keep his current form going in the season. Even Ferguson was full of praise for Bulgarian. He said, “He's one who needs it. After all the adversity he faced last season; it's an old habit for big-money signings at this club if they're not scoring 50 goals.”
On the other hand, Ancelotti was optimistic about Chelsea’s chances in the upcoming season. He said, “Fortunately, it's pre-season. Now we have to look forward," he said, before guaranteeing that "we will be at the top."
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