Things we should learn from the Community Shield
Manchester
United beat Leicester 2-1 in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
Here AFP Sports looks at five things we learnt from the annual curtain
raiser to the English top-flight season:
Pogba deal essential for United
United’s lengthy courtship of Paul Pogba
appears to be reaching a successful conclusion and the France star
can’t arrive soon enough on the evidence of the pedestrian efforts of
Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini in central midfield.
United confirmed before kick-off that
Pogba had been given permission to have a medical ahead of a reported
world record transfer from Juventus and it was easy to see why boss Jose
Mourinho was willing to break the bank to bring the midfield dynamo
back to Old Trafford four years after he moved to Italy.
Carrick was composed on the ball as
ever, but had little real influence on proceedings, while Fellaini was
totally miscast as a deep-lying midfielder, with his mistake for
Leicester’s equaliser typical of his star-crossed time with United.
Ibrahimovic steals the spotlight
Never shy of blowing his own trumpet,
Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims winning silverware in his first season at
United will be a piece of cake and the serial trophy collector produced
an impressive statement of intent with his late winner.
At 34, the ex-Sweden forward is in the
twilight of his glittering career, but he has always had a keen eye for
the spotlight and, after a generally quiet competitive debut, the former
Paris Saint-Germain star underlined his value to United in the 83rd
minute when he towered above hulking defender Wes Morgan to guide a
superb header into the far corner.
Vardy back in the groove
Jamie Vardy says his life has been
“carnage” since the end of last season as the Leicester striker comes to
terms with his newfound celebrity and he looked relieved to be able to
get back to focusing on football in a lively performance.
The 29-year-old carried a constant
threat and equalised in typically predatory fashion in the 52nd minute
when he pounced on Fellaini’s woeful backpass, rounded David de Gea and
slotted into the empty net.
Vardy’s haul of 24 league goals last
season fired Leicester to the title and the sight of the forward back
scoring in a blue shirt following his close-season decision to snub a
move to Arsenal suggests his meteoric rise isn’t over yet.
Promising start for Bailly
Determined to shore up United’s
sometimes error-prone defence, Mourinho turned to Ivory Coast
centre-back Eric Bailly, a £30 million signing from Villarreal, and the
22-year-old made a good first impression against Leicester’s rugged
forwards.
More mobile and aggressive than Chris
Smalling and Daley Blind, United’s first choice centre-backs for much of
last season, Bailly snuffed out a series of potentially dangerous
situations in a no-nonsense manner that will have reassured Mourinho he
has invested wisely.
Kante already missed
While 10 of the 11 regulars who helped
Leicester win the Premier League were in the starting line-up, the one
who was missing – N’Golo Kante – already looks a significant loss.
Kante was the heart and soul of
Leicester’s shock title triumph with his one-man wrecking ball displays
in central midfield, a tour de force that convinced Chelsea to sign the
France international for £30 million.
Andy King was Kante’s replacement at
Wembley and the Welshman’s limitations were laid bare as Leicester were
largely unable to recreate the relentless tempo that carried them to the
title.
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