Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3: First blood to Fergie as champions fight back to stun bitter rivals

Just as victory in the Community Shield never appears to have meant so much, defeat never appears to have hurt so much.

The sense of joy in Manchester United’s ranks was matched only by the bitter disappointment in Manchester City’s. The pained expression on Roberto Mancini’s face seconds after Nani struck in the fourth minute of injury time, and the sight of a dejected Vincent Kompany, guilty of the mistake that presented United’s Portuguese winger with the opportunity to pounce, and then unable to recover the situation, were something to behold.

If this game was supposed to  provide a taste of what will follow over the next nine months, what a season this is going to be, not so much a title race as a bare-knuckle bout between two heavyweights from the same Manchester community.

First blood: Manchester United celebrate their Community Shield win

Wayne Rooney declared on Twitter afterwards that City had been taught a ‘footballing lesson’ — a reference, no doubt, to the  genius of United’s second goal and it being round one to United.
Others like Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — possibly even Tottenham — will, of course, challenge but much of the focus is going to be on Manchester and two teams who will probably care as much about finishing in front of the other as finishing first.
On this evidence, United still have the edge. They played much the better football, dominating possession to the tune of 63 per cent and unleashing 15 shots to City’s six.
It came as something of a surprise to see City lead by two goals at half-time, such was United’s early dominance, but not to see Sir Alex Ferguson’s men battle back to secure victory in arguably the best Community Shield we have seen.   
For the managers there were positives and negatives. Mancini can take comfort from the fact that his side were weakened by the absence of Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero. There was not a single  new signing in his starting line-up, and he should also note how much better his side were once David Silva was deployed in a more central role where he could exert more influence.

At the death: Nani celebrates his injury time winner

Certain negatives do, however, continue to nag with City. Their football is still too defensive — and then there are the problems that remain with Mario Balotelli, branded an embarrassment by Gary Neville after storming down the tunnel when Mancini took him off. He was something of a sight when he then left the stadium: to go with the gold puffa jacket and diamond encrusted denim shorts was a delightful gold suitcase. It certainly isn’t a look Neville would favour.
Not that Neville’s former club can reflect on this without concerns. David De Gea clearly has ability, and he demonstrated as much with a couple of decent saves late on. But his hesitancy in responding to a super free-kick from Silva left him stranded for Joleon Lescott’s opening goal and he will wince when he sees a replay of how miserably he failed to stop Edin Dzeko’s strike seconds before the break.

Opener: Lescott started the goal-fest at Wembley

Ferguson insisted the 20-year-old Spaniard would be better for the experience and his reputation in La Liga would suggest this is not another Massimo Taibi.

But he was also beaten 11 times from outside the box in La Liga when playing for Atletico Madrid last season.

Head-to-head: It was, unsurprisingly, a fiery clash at times

There were times when United still looked short in midfield. Ashley Young made a positive impact on the left wing but a central partnership of  Michael Carrick and Anderson lacked creative spark. Only once Tom Cleverley went on as a replacement for Carrick at the start of the second half did the situation improve. Cleverley was terrific but Wesley Sneijder remains someone United could use.

Not that Ferguson seemed overly concerned. After his side’s last two games at Wembley, in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by City then in the Champions League final against Barcelona, he was just delighted to see his team win again and silence the noisy neighbours.

Game on! Smalling struck back for United early in the second-half 

There were moments when they were rather nasty neighbours too. Under attack and under pressure, they were lucky not to have Micah Richards sent off for a challenge on Young and a little fortunate, too, when a free-kick from Nani flew inches wide.

But, when Silva delivered a super 38th-minute free-kick, De Gea and Rio Ferdinand let Lescott head City in front, and that was soon followed by a second from Dzeko. It was an excellent strike but one De Gea should have dealt with.

Three changes at half-time suggested Ferguson was trying to take the sting out of what was threatening to become a painful defeat. But when Young delivered a free-kick every bit as good as Silva’s, Chris Smalling crowned a marvellous display at right back with a volley that exposed weaknesses in City’s defence.

What then followed, six minutes later, was the moment of the match: a seven-pass move that ended with exactly the kind of goal Barcelona consider their speciality. Starting with Rooney the move then went through Cleverley, Danny Welbeck, Rooney, Nani, Rooney and Cleverley before Nani lifted a  wonderful chip over the advancing Joe Hart.

Edin in the right direction: De Gea will be disappointed to have conceded Dzeko's low drive

Mancini responded by hooking Balotelli and pushing Yaya Toure further forward, while a change at left back left Young as the oldest United player on the pitch for a while.

But, just when it seemed the game would be settled by penalties, Kompany’s failure to deal with a clearance from Rooney suddenly invited Nani to take advantage. He did just that, sprinting away before rounding Hart and shooting into an empty net.

It was a great climax to a great game at the start of what promises to be a great season.

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