Manchester United Claim First Title of the Season
On the opening day of the competitive season, Manchester United beat Chelsea to the Community Shield trophy in a resounding 3–1 victory.
Veteran midfielder Paul Scholes put in a convincing display for United, with Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez giving the side a 2–0 lead on either side of half time.
Salomon Kalou slid in a loose ball to make it 2–1, but United striker Dimitar Berbatov put the game beyond doubt with a trademark finish late on.
Teams rarely go for broke in the Community Shield match – it's come to be treated as a warm up to the 'real' start of the season on the Premier League's opening day – but United's convincing display nonetheless showed the team's eagerness to bounce back after its unfortunate last season.
Errors and Attacks in the Opening Half
Chelsea pressed ahead during an optimistic first half where both teams showed both attacking intent and a lack of sharpness so typical to the early stages of a season.
After five minutes, Ashley Cole became the first to slip as he stumbled trying to catch Wayne Rooney's through ball down the right flank.
Cole's mistake let Valencia in on goal, where the high bounce on the ball prompted him to attempt a lob over Henrique Hialrio, but the keeper was always in control.
The lively Valencia served Scholes as he charged into the box with nine minutes played, but the Englishman slid first-time volley wide and high of the goal.
Chelsea also had their moments, particularly when Florent Malouda's in-swinging free kick found the head of Branislav Ivanovic, whose header forced an acrobatic save from Van der Sar.
And then, four minutes before half time, Rooney showed the quality he was lacking during England's World Cup bid. Running onto Scholes' deep ball behind the Chelsea defence, he was forced toward the corner flag by John Terry.
In the corner of his eye, Rooney spotted Valencia making a clever overlapping run into the box and played the midfielder in with an inch-perfect pass along the ground. All Valencia had to do was lift the ball over a stretching Hilario.
Chelsea Pressing at 0–1
The second half began brightly for Chelsea as Malouda found space and struck a shot just wide from outside the box. On 68 minutes, Michael Essien did the same, but his effort bounced just wide of United's left post.
With a little under half an hour left, Valencia once again caught Cole out on the right side for United, sprinting into space in the Chelsea box. Once there, he picked out new signing Hernandez perfectly.
The striker was lucky on his United debut, as his strike flew into his face and then found the goal to double his team's lead.
Daniel Sturridge, on for Anelka on the hour mark, made a real impact for Chelsea late in the game. Driving with impetus at the United defence, his left-footed shot could only be parried by Van der Sar after 83 minutes.
Kalou was in the right place to the left of the goal and slammed in the return to instil hopes of a late come back for his team.
Berbatov's Cool Finish Settles the Tie
That was not to be, however, as United trio Berbatov, Nani and John O'Shea knocked the ball around midfield. Berbatov made a clever run behind Chelsea's back line and latched onto Nani's dinked through-ball.
The Bulgarian made no mistake when he lobbed Hilario, rounding off a fine display by United. Sir Alex Ferguson's men look certain to challenge for the domestic and European titles this season.
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