Jose Mourinho won his first piece of silverware as Manchester United manager in his first official match in charge, as the Red Devils beat Leicester City 2-1 to win the FA Community Shield.
Manchester United triumphed in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday evening to win their first trophy of the Jose Mourinho era. Jesse Lingard put the Red Devils ahead with a fantastic run and finish — a goal that United fans will be watching on loop for some time to come.
Jamie Vardy capitalised on a weak back pass by Marouane Fellaini to equalise for the Foxes, before Zlatan Ibrahimovic expertly headed in a beautifully lofted Antonio Valencia cross to win his first piece of silverware with Man Utd with his first goal for the club in an official match.
TheHardTackle takes a look at how the players on each side fared in the Community Shield.
Leicester City
Kasper Schmeichel – 6
The Danish goalkeeper was decent between the sticks for the Foxes and could not have done much to prevent the two Manchester United goals. While he did everything he could to get across the goal to stop Zlatan’s header, Schmeichel got a faint touch with his foot on the Jesse Lingard shot and would have hoped to get a stronger one which could have deflected the ball away from the goal.
Danny Simpson – 6
The right-back did not venture forward as often as he is used to, but was defensively stout and did not let the United players cause too much trouble before being subbed off in the 63rd minute.
Wes Morgan – 4
The central defender was one of the heroes of last season’s Premier League triumph but had a difficult time dealing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Sunday. The 32-year-old was found wanting as he uncharacteristically slid in early on Jesse Lingard, allowing the youngster to dribble past him on his way to scoring the opener. Morgan was also overpowered and beaten in the air by Zlatan for what proved to be the winning goal.
Robert Huth – 5.5
Huth was also partly at fault for Lingard’s opener as he missed his first challenge on the United forward. The former Chelsea defender was otherwise decent and even set up new signing Ahmed Musa with a scoring opportunity via a flick on through an indirect set piece, which was ultimately skied by the forward.
Christian Fuchs – 7
Fuchs was arguably the only player that was at his usual best in the game for the Foxes. The 30-year-old was strong defensively while continuously driving the team on to attack at every given opportunity.
Danny Drinkwater – 6.5
The former Manchester United midfielder was impressive, spraying the ball forward to his attackers and commanding the centre of the pitch throughout the match.
Andy King – 5.5
The Welsh international was a surprise inclusion in the starting line-up ahead of new signing Nampalys Mendy, and even though he provided good cover to the defence, too many of his passes went astray. He was ultimately brought off by Ranieri for Mendy in the 63rd minute.
Marc Albrighton – 6
Albrighton had a very unremarkable game as he neither imposed himself nor made any obvious errors. The wide midfielder continued to do his work silently, pushing the ball forward and providing outlets to build up play before coming off at the interval.
Shinji Okazaki – 6.5
Okazaki came close to opening the scoring twice in the first half and was generally lively at the front for the Foxes. He went close with a curling shot which was deflected beyond the post as well as a header from a corner that hit the woodwork. The Japanese striker was eventually substituted for new signing Ahmed Musa.
Riyad Mahrez – 6
The Algerian international was quiet throughout the game for Leicester and even though he had some nice moments on the ball, the winger failed to make an impact on the game. This is the third game in a row where Mahrez has not been his usual destructive self and people may start to wonder if the speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal is affecting his game in a negative way.
Jamie Vardy – 7
The England international was the only player aside from Fuchs whose performance would have pleased manager Claudio Ranieri. Vardy was full of energy and his pressing forced a mistake from Marouane Fellaini, whose weak pass was latched onto by the Foxes striker, who expertly rounded David De Gea and slotted the ball into the empty net to level the scores in the second half.
Ahmed Musa – 6
The forward came on at half-time and looked a threat to the United defence in the second half. The Nigerian, though, squandered an easy chance from the six-yard box after coming on, and the match may have taken a different route had he scored the goal.
Demarai Gray – 5.5
The former Birmingham winger was not at his best after coming on at half time. The youngster was hardly ever seen troubling the United defenders in any way and must improve his decision making if he is to stake a claim for a spot in the starting lineup at Leicester.
Nampalys Mendy – 6
Mendy was calm and composed in midfield during his short stint in the game. The midfielder played a little more than 30 minutes and provided great cover to the defence while also moving the ball forward effectively with his simple passes.
Luis Hernandez – 6
The Spaniard came on for Danny Simpson in the 63rd minute and picked up where his teammate left off. The defender was as strong defensively as Simpson without going forward too often.
Jeffrey Schlupp – N/A
The left-back came on with just 10 minutes left on the clock and did not have much time to make an impact.
Leonardo Ulloa – N/A
Ulloa was more of a last throw of the dice by Ranieri as he brought the Argentine on in the 89th minute in a bid to secure an equalizer. But the Argentine couldn’t make an impact in his 5 minutes on the pitch.
Manchester United
David De Gea – 6
The Spaniard was not troubled much throughout the game and was not really to blame for Vardy’s goal. In fact, the former Atletico Madrid man was clever to make sure he did not trip Vardy as the Englishman rounded him as that would likely have resulted in a straight red card.
Antonio Valencia – 7
The winger-turned-right-back has continued to impress Jose Mourinho and the Portuguese chose to start Valencia ahead of the more natural Darmian. The Ecuadorian repaid his faith by putting in a great shift — both defensively and going forward. In the final ten minutes of the game, Valencia used his pace to get himself clear and lofted a beautiful cross for Zlatan, who headed home United’s winner.
Eric Bailly – 7.5
The former Villareal man was one of the candidates for the Man of the Match award in the eyes of many as he showed impressive stamina to match Jamie Vardy for pace throughout the game, something which the majority of the Premier League defenders have failed in doing. The youngster showed his ability to read the game well by making some great interceptions in the defensive third for United and showed encouraging signs for the season to come.
Daley Blind – 7
Eric Bailly received great support from his defensive partner Daley Blind, who made sure the Ivory Coast international always had an outlet for a pass. The Dutch international sprayed the ball forward beautifully at times and was never caught on the ball. There are question marks as to his place in the starting lineup, but Blind showed he has the ability to play the centre-back role impressively in the absence of Chris Smalling.
Luke Shaw – 6.5
Luke Shaw seems to be getting fitter as the season draws nearer. The England international was a huge positive for United as he continued his recovery from a horror injury that kept him out for the majority of last season. Shaw matched up admirably against Mahrez, coming out on top more times than not against the Algerian international, and was seen driving up and down the pitch before coming off at the 69th minute mark.
Michael Carrick – 5.5
Carrick was average at the heart of the midfield for Jose Mourinho before being ultimately replaced by Ander Herrera in the 61st minute. The United veteran sat back in the midfield and sprayed passes to his more attack-minded teammates. Even though he looked assured in possession, the Englishman failed to make much of an impact on the game.
Marouane Fellaini – 4.5
The Belgian was one of the worst players on the pitch in the Community Shield. Fellaini had to bear the brunt of United fans‘ criticism and rightly so, as he gifted the ball to Jamie Vardy to level the scores in the second half of the game. He lost possession cheaply in midfield on many occasions and his forward runs created space for Leicester to exploit.
Jesse Lingard – 8
Manchester United’s academy product was on fire at Wembley in the Community Shield and was by far the best player on the pitch. The youngster contributed to half of United’s eight completed dribbles in the first half and absolutely stole the show with his wonder goal to put United ahead. He took the ball in the middle of the park and dribbled past several Leicester defenders before slotting ball calmly past Kasper Schmeichel.
Anthony Martial – 6
Martial failed to make much of an impact in his time on the pitch before being subbed off in the 70th minute. It looked like the player was short of fitness after playing only a few minutes in the pre-season. Jose Mourinho would be glad the French international now has some minutes under his belt in and would be hoping to get the player fit before the season opener.
Wayne Rooney – 6
Rooney started again in the number 10 role for United as Jose Mourinho preferred the captain over Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the game. The former Everton player seemed short on the creativity front and failed to make the goalkeeper work with his long-range efforts.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6.5
Zlatan was chosen to lead the United line and even though he ultimately scored the winner for the club, he was largely quiet during the match. Barring a few neat touches and flicks, the former Swedish international failed to impose himself on the match and even scuffed a great chance to score from just outside the six-yard box, before getting his head to Valencia’s cross and scoring the winner.
Ander Herrera – 6
The Spaniard looked more assured in midfield than the man he replaced in the 61st minute, Michael Carrick, and would surely have made his point to his manager as he looks to establish himself in Jose’s squad at Old Trafford.
Juan Mata – 6
Mata came on in the 63rd minute and was his usual creative self, continuously troubling the Leicester defenders with his off-the-ball movement and cheeky passes. The attacking midfielder, though, was bizarrely substituted in the dying moments of the game, a move which raised a few eyebrows from fans and pundits alike.
Marcos Rojo – 6
The Argentine was brought on for Luke Shaw for the last 20 minutes of the game and performed equally well in scuppering Leicester’s chances of getting an equaliser, while dealing with Riyad Mahrez’s pace quite comfortably.
Marcus Rashford – 6.5
Rashford came on and continued to do what Rashford usually does. The English international ran straight at the defence and followed the manager’s orders perfectly by being direct in attack for the Red Devils.
Morgan Schneiderlin – N/A
The Frenchman was brought on for Wayne Rooney in the dying moments of the game as Jose Mourinho looked to secure the result for his team.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – N/A
The former Borussia Dortmund attacker was brought on in additional time in a move which could be seen mainly as one to run down the clock and the Armenian hardly saw the ball.
