Manchester United 1 - 1 (3-0 pen) Chelsea

Edwin van der Sar saved all three penalty kicks he faced as Manchester United prevailed over Chelsea to lift the Community Shield. With the match tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, van der Sar stepped up to become the hero of the penalty kick tie breaker. Van der Sar dived to his right to deny Claudio Pizarro and Frank Lampard and then guessed right again, diving to his left to save Shaun Wright-Phillips' shot. Man United's Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, and Wayne Rooney all converted their spot kicks to win the match 3-0 on penalties.

In the first half hour of the match, each team missed a goal scoring opportunity. Ryan Giggs had a close range shot saved by Petr Cech after a nice pass from Cristiano Ronaldo. For Chelsea, Michael Essien's flicked on header sailed just wide of the far post as Jon Obi Mikel's header attempt was just a split second too late.

Man United took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute on a nice passing sequence. Cristiano Ronaldo released Patrice Evra down the right wing, and Evra picked out Ryan Giggs in the penalty area with a nice cross. Giggs chipped the ball with his left foot over Ashley Cole and into the top of the net.

With time running out in the first half, Chelsea's new signing Florent Malouda played the ball back to Ashley Cole and took off upfield. Malouda then ran onto Cole's long pass forward, shrugged off Rio Ferdinand's challenge, and beat keeper Petr Cech with a shot played with the outside of his left foot. The ball sailed just inside the far post to even the match at 1-1.

In the second half, both clubs pressed for the winning goal, but neither team could find the back of the net. United's best chance came when Cristiano Ronaldo cut inside the box and fired a hard shot on goal. Petr Cech saved the shot, but the rebound eventually fell to Ryan Giggs. Giggs' blast was blocked by defender Glen Johnson and then cleared.

Playing without the injured John Terry and Didier Drogba, Chelsea looked to Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right wing to lead the attack. Wright-Phillips had some nice runs forward, but his crosses never picked out a teammate in the box. At the 90 minute mark, it was still 1-1.

With no extra time played in the Community Shield, the match went straight to penalty kicks. And it was over almost before it had started. Chelsea have been as poor at penalty kicks as the England national team, and that trend didn't change today. Pizarro, Lampard, and Wright-Phillips all had their shots saved by Edwin van der Sar. Wayne Rooney's spot kick put United up 3-0 on penalties, and that was that.

Manchester United v Chelsea
It's never easy to predict how seriously the clubs will take the Community Shield. This match is a cross between a pre-season friendly and a cup final. As the kickoff to the season, it's certainly not as important as a real cup final, but the winner does get a trophy and some measure of bragging rights, so there's more at stake than the average friendly match. Plus, it's Chelsea and Manchester United, the two favorites to win the Premier League this season. In that sense, it gives the two clubs an early opportunity to see how they match up.

And both clubs will be featuring several new players. Chelsea didn't splash the big bucks this summer, but they made several shrewd signings. Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim, and Claudio Pizarro were all free transfers and should provide much needed cover. Winger Florent Malouda was also signed from Lyon and will reunite with former teammate Michael Essien. With rumors of an Arjen Robben transfer to Real Madrid, Malouda could be the ideal replacement on the left wing. With star players like John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, and keeper Petr Cech returning, Chelsea look poised to reclaim the Premier League title from Man United.

Man United, by contrast, opened up the checkbook to bring in their new players. Sir Alex Ferguson laid out £30m in transfer fees for Anderson (from FC Porto) and Nani (from Sporting Lisbon). And the Red Devils finally signed their long time transfer target Owen Hargreaves. Still unresolved is the Carlos Tevez saga. United look on track to sign the West Ham player, if he is, in fact, a West Ham player, but the deal has stalled in the courts. Also yet to be worked out is the status of defender Gabriel Heinze, who apparently wants a transfer to Liverpool. Despite the uncertainty over those two, the dynamic combination of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo should spearhead the chase for a second consecutive title. How the new players will fit it is yet to be determined, but don't be surprised in a repeat of last year's duel between the Red Devils and the Blues.

As for the Community Shield, I'm going to pick Chelsea to win 2-1. The clubs are fairly evenly matched, but after failing to win the league last year, Chelsea will be looking to send a message to United. Plus, United will be without the injured Paul Scholes, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and new singings Owen Hargreaves and Anderson. For Chelsea, Frank Lampard suffered a mild toe injury but should be able to play. Wayne Bridge, Michael Ballack, and Salamon Kalou are out, but Ashely Cole should be able to play. Community Shields aren't always entertaining, but this one should be a close contest.