Leicester City 1 Manchester United 2
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has helped to put the blockbuster feel back into Manchester United and the striker that has promised to become a footballing god to the club’s fans offered an illustration of his patented sense of occasion.
The curtain-raiser to the Premier League season had been engaging enough, marked by a Jesse Lingard wonder-goal and a deserved Leicester City equaliser from Jamie Vardy but it looked to be sliding towards a rather artificial penalty shootout conclusion.
Enter Zlatan. The free agent signing from Paris Saint-Germain had successfully executed an extravagant back-heel with his first touch in the early running but it was what he did in the 83rd minute that represented his placing down of a marker.
Antonio Valencia stood up a cross towards the far post and Ibrahimovic leapt for the ball with Wes Morgan, the Leicester captain and not a man who is easily out-muscled. Ibrahimovic out-muscled him. The header did not pack a similar punch but the precision was perfect. The ball squeezed past Kasper Schmeichel and went in off the far post. Ibrahimovic wheeled away in delight.
José Mourinho had lost his previous three Community Shields with Chelsea and he could be pleased to reacquaint himself with silverware. Bigger battles lie ahead but with himself and Ibrahimovic on board – and Paul Pogba to come – there is a something of a swagger back at Old Trafford. After the Louis Van Gaal era, it is welcome. In the cool Wembley air, there was the feel of optimism, despite his not having been a vintage United display. Mourinho’s overhaul will not happen overnight.
The Community Shield occupies a curious place in English football, in that fans continue to wonder whether it counts as a competitive game or not. Do goals in it go down in a player’s tally for the season? It does not have the same status as, say, the Spanish Super Cup. Yes, it is a trophy but the caveats and asterisks can feel numerous.
Lingard lit up the occasion with the breakthrough goal and he will obviously argue that he is officially off the mark for the season. This famous stadium is coming to suit him. After his volley won the FA Cup for United last May, he thrilled again with a marvellous solo effort.
The young winger made an angle to collect Wayne Rooney’s square pass and he exploded away from two blue shirts before surging around a third in Robert Huth. Morgan was next up and he slid into a head-on challenge only for Lingard to ride it. When Danny Simpson could not get across in time, Lingard had opened up the one-on-one with Schmeichel. His body shape was perfect and the finish with the instep of his right foot was nerveless.
One of the most interesting aspects of the afternoon was the clue-spotting that it allowed ahead of the more serious business. Claudio Ranieri has made five new signings so far this summer but he did not start with any of them and, apart from Andy King playing in place of N’Golo Kanté, who has departed for Chelsea, it was the same XI that had brought one of the greatest sporting fairytales to life last season.
With nine gruelling months ahead, taking in the club’s debut Champions League campaign, there will be plenty of opportunities for Papy Mendy, Luis Hernández and Ahmed Musa – each of whom came on in the second-half. Ranieri went for continuity but, perhaps, there was the element of personal reward for his champions. Leicester do not play at Wembley every year. It was their first appearance since 2000, when they beat Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup final.
Mourinho’s selection had more talking points. Lingard justified his inclusion ahead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, one of the club’s new boys, while that of Marouane Fellaini in midfield might have raised a few eyebrows, even before his aberration for the equaliser. There was no room in the match day squad for Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay, Chris Smalling or Anthony Fosu-Mensah, among others – the last two were short on match fitness.
Ibrahimovic looked a powerful focal point while Eric Bailly, Mourinho’s other new signing, had a promising debut, give or take a few errors. The 22-year-old centre-half showed his pace and strength.
Leicester went close on two occasions before the interval through Shinji Okazaki – the first one, a shot that deflected narrowly wide; the second, a header from Marc Albrighton’s corner that came back off the crossbar – and they were value for the equaliser.
It came when the pacey substitute, Demarai Gray, bolted forward and looked for Vardy only for Fellaini to read his intentions and intercept. Danger over. Not quite. Fellaini was not finished and when he looked to play the ball back to David De Gea, the pass was woefully under-hit. Vardy accepted the present, flicking on the after-burners and charging after the ball. He was always going to get to it before De Gea and when he did, he kept his cool to round him and slot into the empty net.
United lost Lingard after he was caught by King’s slide challenge and the second-half became pockmarked by substitutions. Ibrahimovic and Musa went close at either end and, at the very last, Gray saw a clear chance deflected wide. By then, Ibrahimovic had bent the game to his will.
(Guardian service)
