Monday 10 August 2009

Penalty shoot-out joy for Chelsea

Chelsea beat Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out to win the Community Shield after the FA Cup holders and Premier League champions finished level at 2-2 at Wembley.

Salomon Kalou blasted home the winning spot-kick for Carlo Ancelotti's side, after United's Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra had their efforts saved by Petr Cech.

Nani put United ahead on 10 minutes in regular time with a long-range strike, before Ricardo Carvalho headed an equaliser for Chelsea early in the second half.

Chelsea went ahead in controversial circumstances on 71 minutes, when Frank Lampard finished a breakaway move with Nani laid prone on the turf after a dubious challenge from Michael Ballack.

But United forced a penalty shoot-out in injury time when Rooney ran onto to Ryan Giggs's through ball and lifted a calm finish over Cech.

The traditional curtain raiser to the Premier League season kicked got off to an eventful start, with Dimitar Berbatov booked on three minutes for raising a leg to block a quick free-kick.

On six minutes Chelsea came within a coat of paint of going ahead. Lampard swung over a corner from the left and Branislav Ivanovic timed his run superbly to meet the ball with an outstretched leg inside the six-yard box.

The defender's finish went straight into the turf, however, allowing Evra time to readjust and head off the line and onto the bar.

United cleared and four minutes' later the Premier League champions went ahead after Darren Fletcher's raking cross-field pass from Nani wide on the left touchline.

The Portuguese winger cut inside and made space, before despatching a low drive beyond the despairing dive of Cech and into the opposite corner.

The goal prompted a spell of pressure from United, who began to move the ball around confidently and threaten a second goal.

On 16 minutes Berbatov picked out Rooney at the far post. The England striker headed back across goal, but Ji-Sung Park's hooked shot was weakly struck and comfortably saved at the near post by Cech.

Chelsea responded well and had a glorious chance to level on the half-hour mark. Drogba was the provider, cushioning a volley towards an unmarked Malouda the far post, but the French international scuffed his shot from five yards out and the chance went begging.

The Blues did not have long to wait, however, with Carvalho in the right place to head into an empty net after Ben Foster punched under pressure from Drogba on 52 minutes.

Chelsea went ahead midway through the second half when Drogba set up Lampard inside the United box after a swift counter-attack.

Foster got a hand on the England midfielder's shot, but could only parry it onto the post and in.

United were rightly agrieved that Ballack had not been penalised for a crude bodycheck on Evra at the start of the move, which left them short of numbers at the back.

But Sir Alex Ferguson's men levelled in stoppage after substitute Giggs prodded a pass through to Rooney. The striker shifted the ball onto his left foot and finished clinically past Cech to force a shoot-out.

But United's hopes a third successive Charity Shield triumph ended with weak penalties from Gigg and Evra, while Chelsea's Lampard, Ballack, Drogba and Kalou made no mistake to hand Ancellotti his first triumph as Chelsea manager and give the Blues a key psychological boost ahead of the new season.

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