Man U beats Chelsea to win Community Shield
Updated: 2007-08-06 08:30
WEMBLEY, England - Manchester United won the Community Shield on Sunday, capturing the traditional season opener by beating Chelsea 3-0 in a shootout with goalie Edwin Van Der Sar saving all three penalty kicks he faced.
 Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar, centre in green, celebrates with his team-mates, from left, Louis Saha, John O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick, after saving three penalties to defeat Chelsea and win the FA Community Shield soccer match at Wembley Stadium, London, Sunday Aug. 5, 2007. [AP] |
The teams had tied 1-1 at Wembley after 90 minutes before going straight to the shootout.
Van Der Sar saved penalties from Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech failed to get near any of the United shots from Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney.
"I was 5-2 down in penalty shootouts in my career so this makes it 5-3," Van Der Sar said. "We deserved it. We played the better football, we had more chances than them."
Ryan Giggs had put United in the lead in the 35th minute before Florent Malouda made it 1-1 in the 45th.
This is the record 16th time United has either won or shared the English season opener between the league champions and FA Cup holders, which does not count in the Premier League standings. Before the introduction of shootouts in 1993, teams held the title for six months each after draws.
The regular season starts next week. The same two teams played in the FA Cup final three months ago, with Chelsea winning 1-0 at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium.
"It's a little revenge for the cup final and it's a good start for the league for us," Van Der Sar said.
Giggs put United in the lead with a shot off a cross from Patrice Evra. Chelsea tied it in the 45th when Malouda broke from the left, muscled past Ferdinand and beat Van Der Sar with the outside of his foot while falling.
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