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Craig HillCurtain-raiser: Manchester United wins Community Shield
August 11th 2008 02:26
Reigning English and European champions Manchester United have started the new season by capturing the Community Shield at Wembley.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side continued where they left off last season by winning a penalty shootout to beat Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties in a game which United had complete control but a string of wasted chances.
Despite the endeavour of Carlos Tevez - the only recognised (and fit) striker in the squad - and a strong display from Portugal's Nani, signing a new striker must be Ferguson's top priority if they want to defend their Premier League and European titles this season. Without last season's 42-goal top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo (injured) and England striker Wayne Rooney (virus) in the side, you just can't seem to see where the goals are coming from.
The game marked the return of United captain and England right-back Gary Neville to the side - his first start since March 2007 - but it was Portuguese winger Nani who ran the show with his pace causing all sorts of problems for Sol Campbell and Glen Johnson in the Pompey back-line.
The FA cup winners were having a torrid time and created very little meaningful opportunities which culminated in three penalty misses in the shootout from Lassana Diarra, Arnold Mvuemba and Glen Johnson. Fortunately for the Red Devils, their players managed to find their scoring boots just in time for the shootout with all three penalty-takers - Tevez, Giggs and Carrick - finding the back of the net.
The win made it a lucky seven victories in the curtain-raiser for Fergie but the general consensus is that he needs to sign a top striker to ensure that his team wins more than just the community shield this season.
[Source: Fliggo]
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