The Times
August 6, 2007

Ferguson celebrates as Van de Sar saves day
Chelsea 1 Manchester United 1
Oliver Kay at Wembley Stadium

The season's first piece of silverware is barely worth its weight in
scrap metal, but try telling that to the Manchester United players who
cavorted around the new Wembley Stadium with the FA Community Shield
while their Chelsea counterparts were contemplating an injury crisis
that will consume José Mourinho during the final countdown to the new
Barclays Premier League campaign.

A man with Mourinho's competitive instincts would not readily concede
a game of tiddlywinks - not to mention chess, as Sir Alex Ferguson did
in a somewhat withering pre-match assessment of Chelsea's
entertainment value - but, as Wayne Rooney's kick condemned them to
the most perfunctory of penalty shoot-out defeats yesterday, the
rueful smile across the face of the Portuguese seemed less to do with
the loss of a trophy than with the potential absence of up to ten
players when the new season starts for real this weekend.

Nor would United claim to be in rude health just yet, but Ferguson was
happy to report afterwards that the cavalry is on its way, with
confidence that Carlos Tévez will be on board in time to appear in a
friendly match against either Dunfermline Athletic or Glentoran on
Wednesday, when Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani also expect to be
involved after featuring only sporadically in pre-season. Contrast
that with the absence of John Terry, Claude Makelele, Michael Ballack
and Didier Drogba, to name but four, and it was easy to see why
Mourinho's smile had cracked by the time he entered the post-match
press conference.

Ferguson suggested that there were few meaningful conclusions to be
drawn from the exercise, but if, as he said, the fixture represents a
"stepping stone" towards the new season, it was United who crossed it
with greater purpose. Mourinho dismissed such talk, claiming that a
depleted Chelsea had "controlled the game for 90 minutes" against the
league champions, but it was one of those days on which his attempts
at defiance fell short.

United won the day thanks largely to Edwin van der Sar, who saved
penalties from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun
Wright-Phillips while Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Rooney all
beat Petr Cech, but they were also marginally the better team over 90
minutes. Ryan Giggs's expertly taken goal gave them a lead that was
more than deserved on the balance of play, while they will also
reflect that Chelsea barely mounted a serious attack either side of
Florent Malouda's equalising goal on the stroke of half-time.

"We're happy with the trophy," Ferguson said. "This kind of match is
not a great gauge because both teams were missing some players, but it
was good for them anyway. It was a very warm day, but it will bring
players on to the required pace of our game. There wasn't much in it
between either side, in terms of possession, but we did make the
clearer chances. We deserved it for that reason." United always looked
the livelier team in a match that succeeded in whetting the appetite
for next weekend. There is no such thing as a friendly match, let
alone a meaningless one, where these two teams are concerned and, as
Malouda introduced himself to English football by barging into the
back of Cristiano Ronaldo with just ten seconds on the clock, it was
apparent that this would be more than an exhibition match.

Rooney, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the player who was most eager to
carry the fight to the opposition. A generous judge would give the
young United forward the benefit of the doubt over a twelfth-minute
incident when his studs landed on the thigh of Ashley Cole, but Mark
Halsey saw fit to show him the yellow card in first-half stoppage time
when he caught Cech, having overcommitted himself in his latest
running battle with Tal Ben Haim.

Ben Haim, along with Malouda, was one of just two new faces on view of
the 22 who started the game and, with United taking the initiative, he
was to endure a difficult first 45 minutes in the Chelsea defence.
Even more uncomfortable was Glen Johnson, recalled at right back after
a season-long loan at Portsmouth but quickly identified by United -
and, no doubt, by the notoriously unforgiving Mourinho - as a rare
chink in Chelsea's armour. Expect the Chelsea coach's interest in
Daniel Alves, the Seville right back, to be heightened before the
transfer window closes on August 31.

It was a slick move down the United left that ended with Giggs putting
them ahead in the 35th minute. Patrice Evra exchanged passes with
Ronaldo to get behind Johnson before pulling the ball back towards
Giggs, who steered a perfect shot beyond Cech and Ashley Cole, who was
covering on the goal-line. Remarkably, it was his first goal in 17
appearances at Wembley at senior level, his only previous strike way
back in the days that he represented England Schoolboys under the name
of Ryan Wilson.

Unsurprisingly, given the lack of a recognised centre forward in their
starting lineup, with Pizarro not yet match-fit, Chelsea were
struggling to make any headway in attack, but Malouda equalised with a
show of the strength and skill that would seem to make him perfectly
equipped to adapt to English football. It is a goal that Ferdinand
will not look back on with any fondness, as the Chelsea player beat
him to Ashley Cole's flighted ball down the inside-left channel, but
Malouda showed considerable enterprise and determination in beating
the United defender before shooting past the hesitant Van der Sar.

After a flat second period, Van der Sar emerged as the match-winner, a
redemption of sorts after he blamed himself for Drogba's winning goal
in the FA Cup Final in May. This time it was the Chelsea players who
left Wembley with heads bowed. For United, even the slightest
psychological advantage is to be welcomed in advance of the challenge
ahead, even if it is likely to be forgotten long before they resume
hostilities in the Premier League at Old Trafford on September 23.

PENALTY FLOPS

CLAUDIO PIZARRO

Van der Sar dives to his right, but the goalkeeper manages to stretch
out his left arm and block the Peruvian's effort with a hand

FRANK LAMPARD

The England midfield player struggled to impose himself on the game
and his strike lacked the power to beat Van der Sar

SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS

Van der Sar is quick off his line again as Wright-Phillips adds to
Chelsea's woes with another weak strike from 12 yards

Chelsea 1 Malouda 45

Manchester United 1 Giggs 35

How they rated

Chelsea

4-3-3 P Cech 7 G Johnson 4 T Ben Haim 5 R Carvalho 6 A Cole 8 F
Lampard 5 M Essien 7 J O Mikel 7 S Wright-Phillips 5 F Malouda 7 J
Cole 5

Subsitutes S Sidwell (for Johnson, 78min), L Diarra 5 (A Cole, 68), C
Pizarro 5 (Malouda, 52), S Sinclair (J Cole, 82) Not used C Cudicini,
Hilario, H Worley

Manchester United

4-4-1-1 E van der Sar 7 W Brown 6 R Ferdinand 6 N Vidic 6 M Silvestre
5 C Ronaldo 7 M Carrick 7 J O'Shea 6 P Evra 7 R Giggs 7 W Rooney 7

Subsitutes Nani 5 (Silvestre, 68min), D Fletcher (Giggs, 81) Not used
T Kuszczak, G Pique, P Bardsley, C Eagles, L Martin.

Referee M Halsey Attendance 80,731
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Telegraph:

Ryan Giggs an ageless inspiration for United
By Henry Winter

Chelsea 1(1) Manchester United 1 (1) (United win 3-0 on penalties)

Football, the sport that never sleeps, hardly seems to have had a
lie-down this summer, and events here yesterday maintained familiar
themes from last season. All the talk was of Chelsea's injury
travails, Jose Mourinho's quixotic streak, Manchester United's rich
attacking potential, and the enduring excellence of Ryan Giggs, who
continues to give Old Father Time the runaround.


Giggs' manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, keeps expanding United's creative
department as if fearful of some flair famine stalking the land. Such
an intelligent frontrunner as Carlos Tevez, who makes his debut on
Wednesday, will doubtless link instinctively and prolifically with
Wayne Rooney while Nani showed glimpses of his gifts against Chelsea.
Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani can operate on either flank. Paul Scholes
returns from injury soon. Marvellous options abound. Ferguson can play
fantasy football for real.

Yet there was Giggs, 33 years of age but with the enthusiasm of a
teenager, gliding through to score a superb 35th-minute goal to shake
a clammy Community Shield into life. Florent Malouda subsequently
conjured up a terrific equaliser, and Edwin van der Sar proved
unbeatable in the penalty shoot-out, but the main memory was of Giggs,
of a class that never ages.

When Patrice Evra crossed from the left, and Rooney cleverly dragged
blue shirts out of position, Giggs calmly stroked the ball from 15
yards into Petr Cech's goal. "Ryan placed it,'' said Ferguson, his
eyes lighting up at the recollection. "Ryan could see Ashley Cole on
the line with the keeper looking after the other side of the goal, so
he placed it.''

If the goal was exceptional, it certainly produced an extraordinary
statistic. It was so long ago that Giggs last scored at Wembley that
he had a different name. Then known as Ryan Wilson and captain of
England Schoolboys, this special player last found the mark at Wembley
18 years ago.

Rooney was three at the time, and sometimes does not have appear to
have matured much. The England international disclosed the shortness
of his fuse as well as the depth of his talent yesterday, and the fear
is that his conduct will continue to vex officials. Yet his booking
yesterday was unwarranted: Rooney accidentally caught Cech while
chasing a loose ball and knocked off balance by Tal Ben Haim.

Chelsea fans, some sporting T-shirts declaring that the title was only
"on loan to United'', were enraged, and loudly questioned everything
from Rooney's weight to his parentage. United's No 10 responded by
holding up a solitary finger to signal who were the No 1 team in the
land.


The Community Shield is rarely a good form-guide, but few would
question that United are favourites to claim the Premiership. For all
his "mellow'' intent, Mourinho remains a one-man debating society and
he sent eyebrows rising faster than the mercury with his comment that
"Chelsea controlled the game for 90 minutes in quite an easy way''.

Nonsense. Ashley Cole, who again dealt well with Ronaldo, and the
purposeful Malouda certainly impressed for Mourinho's side, but they
were hamstrung by the absence of John Terry and Didier Drogba with
knee problems. Drogba aims to be back within 10 days but Terry's
anticipated month on the sidelines is desperate news.

Such a committed leader and shrewd defensive organiser would have
engineered more resistance to United's goal. Ben Haim, otherwise all
right, played Evra onside while Ricardo Carvalho clearly missed Terry.
Such were Chelsea's injury woes (with Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben,
Wayne Bridge, Andrei Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou also unavailable)
that Mourinho was forced to field Joe Cole at centre-forward in a
4-3-3 and name two keepers among the subs to make up the numbers.

Also on the bench was Avram Grant, Chelsea's new director of football,
and the chemistry between him and Mourinho will be much scrutinised
this season. Mourinho is not the type to accept interference in his
first-team domain, but those who know Grant insist that he is far too
savvy and diplomatic to engage in power struggles. Maybe it was the
heat yesterday but there appeared a thaw in Chelsea's Cold War with
Roman Abramovich consoling Mourinho and the players in the dressing
room afterwards.

Chelsea will play better than this, and Mourinho looks to have
invested smartly in Malouda, who showed courage, speed and technique
to cancel out Giggs' strike on the cusp of half-time. Ashley Cole,
uneasy on his right foot, used the outside of his left to bend a fine
ball into the path of Malouda and United were exposed. Rio Ferdinand
was left trailing, Van der Sar's attempt to close Malouda down was
half-hearted and Chelsea's £13 million signing clipped the ball
expertly home.

Van der Sar made amends spectacularly in the shoot-out, saving from
Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Rio
Ferdinand and Michael Carrick both calmly converted their kicks,
leaving Rooney to apply the coup de grace, and then repeat his No 1
signal to the departing Chelsea fans. Rooney, Giggs et al are again
the team to beat.

Match details

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Johnson (Sidwell 77), Ben Haim, Carvalho, A
Cole (Diarra 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole
(Sinclair 81), Malouda (Pizarro 51).
Subs: Cudicini (g), Hilario (g), Worley.
Goal: Malouda (45).
Booked: Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel.
Manchester Utd (4-4-1-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic,
Silvestre (Nani 67); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Giggs (Fletcher
80); Rooney.
Subs: Kuszczak (g), Pique, Bardsley, Martin, Eagles.
Goal: (Giggs 35).
Booked: Rooney.
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
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Indy:

Chelsea 1, Man United 1: Mourinho's new mood blighted by loss and
looming injury crisis
By Sam Wallace
Published: 06 August 2007
From his place on the bench even Jose Mourinho found it hard to
suppress a smile at the appaling success his team endured from the
penalty spot – and he is not known for making light of failure. On the
English football season's great irrelevant opening day, Edwin van der
Sar was the hero but the atmosphere was soon a good deal chillier
around the Chelsea manager as the start of his campaign threatened to
disintegrate.

While Manchester United walked off with the Community Shield, polished
even brighter than the alloys on a Premiership footballer's Hummer,
Sir Alex Ferguson could talk optimistically about Carlos Tevez's debut
this week. For Mourinho there was only more injury misery; he now has
11 players out injured, and already the siege mentality was descending
upon the Chelsea manager.

The mellow attitude he has claimed to have adopted looks like it will
be severely tested in the next few weeks. Ferguson waits only upon
Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in terms of
injuries – Mourinho has a much more serious problem. John Terry's
absence will be for a month at the very least, while Didier Drogba
will find out today how serious the problem with his knee has become.

Days like yesterday may be the opportunity for experimentation but
Mourinho admitted that he had never before been forced to pick a side
that did not include an orthodox striker. With Claudio Pizarro not yet
fit enough to play a full game, he started with Joe Cole as a
makeshift centre-forward. It was far from a disastrous Chelsea
performance but the implications for the start of their season could
be much more dramatic.

Andrei Shevchenko, Claude Makelele, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou and
Arjen Robben were the other absentees, as well as the long-term
injured, Wayne Bridge and Michael Ballack. It was reflected in
Mourinho's mood as he first refused even to take questions on the
seriousness of his players' injuries, only brightening later to say he
was not worried. "I'm ready for the fight and I'm happy with the
team," he said.

At pitchside, temperatures crept past 35C and while the match never
approached the intensity of last season's FA Cup final less than three
months ago, it was not for lack of effort on the part of some
individuals. Wayne Rooney discovered that it was not just the referee
who can book him now, the linesman can have a say, too. Via his
headset, Darren Cann advised the referee, Mark Halsey, of a kick at
Tal Ben Haim from Rooney that earned the England striker a booking.

It was Rooney who looked among the sharpest on the pitch and Cristiano
Ronaldo, too, but not before the latter mistakenly backheeled the ball
mid-stepover and in doing so effectively tackled himself. United were
blessed with pace in attack, especially with Patrice Evra promoted to
a left-wing position where he excelled and was integral in the
creation of the United goal for Ryan Giggs.

On 35 minutes, Evra's exchange with Ronaldo allowed him to cross to
Giggs and United's 33-year-old captain struck the ball up into the
roof of Petr Cech's goal. The Chelsea goalkeeper had made a brilliant
save from Giggs in the 21st minute and Cech remains one of the very
few whom Mourinho simply cannot afford to be without.

From his seat in the sunshine at Wembley, Steve McClaren will already
have been worrying about the state of his England team's defence
against Germany next week when Florent Malouda embarrassed the only
fit first-choice centre-back the national-team manager has left.
Chelsea's £13.5m signing did extremely well to out-muscle Rio
Ferdinand as he ran on to a long ball from Ashley Cole and, with his
last touch, steered the ball past Van der Sar. Just Mourinho's luck
then that Malouda would later limp off with the injury he picked up in
the act of scoring and later Glen Johnson was also forced to withdraw.

Pizarro gave Chelsea more presence in attack in the second half, but
as a player who spent eight years in Germany, Mourinho might have
expected him to be better at penalties. The Peruvian had his spot-kick
saved by Van der Sar, as did Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. When
Rooney smashed in the third United penalty it was all over

Tevez will make his debut on Wednesday in one of two friendlies United
play that day against Dunfermline Athletic and Glentoran in Belfast.
Ferguson had clearly read the theories that his new Argentine is too
similar to Rooney for the two to be compatible and was not of the same
mind.

"I don't think they're identical at all, other than that they're both
of a similar physique," he said. "Both are two-footed, both are
quickish, both can beat their man. I don't think those similarities
are a bad thing. When they get playing with each other, they'll
hopefully get an understanding."

On the Premier League title race he was more cryptic. "Everyone in the
country knows we're the two best sides, but Arsenal and Liverpool will
play a bigger hand this season."

The United manager still claims that there is not much to be deduced
from days like these but as a guide to the next month, the form
favours the champions.

Chelsea (4-3-3) Cech; Johnson (Sidwell, 78), Carvalho, Ben Haim, A
Cole (Diarra, 67); Essien, Mikel, Lampard; Wright-Phillips, J Cole
(Sinclair, 82), Malouda (Pizarro, 51). Substitutes not used: Cudicini
(gk), Hilario (gk), Worley.

Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic,
Silvestre (Nani, 68); Ronaldo, Carrick, O'Shea, Evra; Rooney, Giggs
(Fletcher, 81). Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Pique, Bardsley,
Martin, Eagles.

Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).

Booked: Chelsea Ben Haim, Carvalho, Mikel; Manchester United Rooney.

Man of the match: Evra.

Stamford Bridge sick list

* John Terry

(knee, one month)

* Wayne Bridge

(hip, three months)

* Frank Lampard

(broken toe, still playing)

* Didier Drogba

(doubtful for opener)

* Andrei Shevchenko

(back, doubtful for opener)

* Florent Malouda (right)

(doubtful for opener)

* Glen Johnson

(muscle, doubtful)

* Michael Ballack

(ankle, two to three

weeks)

* Salomon Kalou

(muscle, doubtful)

* Arjen Robben

(knee, doubtful)

* Claude Makelele

(knee, should be fit for opener)

* Paulo Ferreira

(muscle, doubtful)

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Van der Sar spots weak point to claim first trophy


Kevin McCarra at Wembley
Monday August 6, 2007
The Guardian


Given enough talent, a man can distil potent memories out of even a
Community Shield match. Holland have had angst-ridden days when it
comes to taking penalties but Edwin van der Sar has no inhibitions
about facing them.
The Manchester United goalkeeper threw himself lithely to his right,
denying Claudio Pizarro and then Frank Lampard in the shoot-out. It
was understandable that Chelsea's third effort would be downcast, as
Shaun Wright-Phillips allowed Van der Sar an elementary save. Wayne
Rooney then ended the contest by converting his penalty as
methodically as Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick had done.


Van der Sar, who turns 37 in October, was troubled by his lapses
towards the close of last season and very conscious that little time
might be left to him in an Old Trafford contract that ends next
summer.
His pre-season had not been convincing but United can barely afford to
let him retreat into the shadows. Tomasz Kuszczak is not regarded as
his natural heir and Ben Foster's cruciate ligament injury will rule
him out until the end of this year at the earliest. Even then he will
have to build on the impression made at Watford.

For Sir Alex Ferguson the principal benefit of the afternoon at
Wembley could be the fillip it gives Van der Sar. It would be rash to
come up with larger deductions. The fact that each club can make six
substitutions is the Community Shield's confession to being a
jumped-up friendly, although neither manager was shameless enough to
make full use of that facility.

While United, busier in attack, deserved to be victors, they will be
conscious, too, that Chelsea's line-up was a distorted reflection of
the prowess that Jose Mourinho can call on when there are fewer
problems. Didier Drogba has hurt his knee and, though a scan should
confirm that he will be back in 10 days, Mourinho was not confident
enough of Andriy Shevchenko's fitness to use the Ukrainian here. If it
was peculiar to witness Joe Cole give his own interpretation of
centre-forward play, it is likely that Mourinho wanted to protect
Pizarro, who eventually took part for 38 minutes, since he has no
other fit strikers remaining.

The Peruvian was released from the dug-out to take over from Florent
Malouda, who would have been feeling the effects of the knock he had
taken while scoring a determined equaliser at the end of the first
half. That moment of purpose and craft identified the Frenchman as the
epitome of the sort of footballer who can capture Jose Mourinho's
heart. Malouda has even played full-back trenchantly on occasion.

In the 45th minute the excellent Ashley Cole swerved a pass down the
left and the £13.5m acquisition from Lyon had more resolve than
Ferdinand, forcing himself free of the centre-back to clip an
impressive finish past Van der Sar. The goal rounded off a first half
in which the sides had striven to play in earnest.

There was even a sprinkling of spite to add flavour. A pointing Wayne
Rooney, having been booked for a late challenge on Petr Cech, seemed
to be in dispute with a section of Chelsea fans who had been demanding
a red card. Even when there was no animus, United, with superior means
at Wembley, were livelier in attack and Cech needed to block Ryan
Giggs's effort following a Cristiano Ronaldo run in the 21st minute.

While Michael Essien and Mikel John Obi both failed to head home a
Malouda free-kick shortly afterwards there was more of a flourish to
United's display. The opening goal had thinking and technique that
were both sharp. With 35 minutes gone, Patrice Evra took a crossfield
ball on his chest, touched it to Ronaldo and raced after the return
pass.

His low cross was probing and a lunge by Carvalho could not distract
Ryan Giggs from recording his first goal at Wembley since his
schoolboy days with a sweeping drive high into the net. By and large
Chelsea showed that they retained the knack of stifling United all the
same and Tal Ben Haim in defence seemed to be as reasonable a deputy
for John Terry as Mourinho could have landed on a free transfer this
summer.

So far as the flamboyant football now required of him is concerned,
the manager can expect patience from his employers until genuine
attackers are present. The main lesson of the afternoon may be that
Chelsea, so well rehearsed in most areas, are not at all adept at
shoot-outs, having previously been vanquished on penalties by
Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final.