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Community Shield | Community Shield
Aug 7, 2016 at 4pm UK
 
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1-2

Vardy (52')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Lingard (32'), Ibrahimovic (83')

Live Commentary: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester United - as it happened

Relive Manchester United's 2-1 victory over Leicester City as Zlatan Ibrahimovic heads his side to the first trophy of the 2016-17 season.
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Manchester United won their first trophy of the Jose Mourinho era this afternoon courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Leicester City in the Community Shield match at Wembley.

Jesse Lingard gave the FA Cup holders the lead with another memorable strike just two months after his winner on the same ground, but Jamie Vardy restored parity early in the second half.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic proved to be the match-winner with his first competitive goal for United, squeezing a header in off the post with just seven minutes remaining to seal the trophy.

Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage below.


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Good afternoon! Even a summer of European Championships has not made the two-month absence of Premier League football go any quicker, but the Community Shield means that we are just one week away from the big kickoff now! The first silverware of the 2016-17 campaign is up for grabs at Wembley today as Premier League champions Leicester City take on FA Cup winners Manchester United, for whom there has been big change during the summer. We'll get to them a little later, but let's start our bumper two-hour build-up with a look at Claudio Ranieri's Leicester...

Well - the big question for the Foxes is how do they follow last season? Their achievement of winning the Premier League title will live long in the memory, and rightly so. It is quite possibly the most unlikely and most remarkable story in English football history - perhaps in football history full stop - with only Nottingham Forest's back-to-back European Cup triumphs really comparable. Up until the closing weeks of the season, many were not convinced that they would see it through, but they did exactly that and did it in some style too. The magnitude of their achievement may never truly sink in, but now the big test is to follow it up.

It is fair to say that not many people will be expecting Leicester to repeat the feat next season. Of course, last term's exploits should have taught us all not to write them off, but without taking anything away from their title success, a lot of things did go their way. They avoided any big injuries to their key players throughout the entire course of the season, and were also able to focus solely on the Premier League for much of the campaign, with no European football or long cup runs to distract them. There was also the factor of a number of big teams enduring dreadful campaigns by their own standards, which you'd have to assume would not happen again during the upcoming campaign.

Indeed, the stats show just how difficult it will be for Leicester to retain the title, even if they are to scale the same heights as they did last term. Their 81-point tally would have only been enough to win the title in one of the 10 years prior to last season, when Manchester United lifted the crown in 2010-11. They would have finished second twice, third three times and fourth on four occasions with an 81-point tally in that time, so while simply replicating last season's form is a big enough ask in itself, it still may not be enough. Having said that, the Premier League is growing more competitive by the year, and the 2016-17 season promises to be the most competitive yet, which will naturally bring the average point tally of the champions and top four down. Leicester would also be more than happy with another top-four finish I'm sure!

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: Leicester have only ever graced this curtain-raiser once in the past, and even then it was in rather dubious circumstances. They took on Liverpool in 1971 after Arsenal had won the double the previous season only to pull out of the Charity Shield match as it clashed with a pre-season tour. Instead, second place in the First Division (Liverpool) took on the Second Division champions (Leicester), and the result was a 1-0 win for the Foxes at Filbert Street, with Whitworth getting the only goal.


The bookies famously made Leicester 5,000-1 underdogs to win the Premier League title last season, but as you can imagine those odds have dramatically reduced for the upcoming campaign. The defending champions are still considered outsiders, though, with the most common price given by the bookies being around 33-1. That makes them seventh favourites behind both Manchester clubs. Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, and on paper it is quite hard to argue with that. It would be interesting to hear whether Leicester would be content with a seventh-placed finish following their contrasting last two seasons, but at the very least you'd imagine that they will want to push for another season in Europe next term.

Crucially, Claudio Ranieri has managed to keep the bulk of his title-winning squad together this summer. There were fears of a mass exodus, as can happen at traditionally smaller clubs following a standout season, but that hasn't materialised. Top scorer Jamie Vardy was the first to commit himself to the club, while the likes of Wes Morgan, Danny Drinkwater and Kasper Schmeichel have followed suit. The biggest remaining question mark hangs over the head of Riyad Mahrez, who won the PFA Player of the Year award last term. He has been heavily linked with a move away from the club, with the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid credited with an interest over the course of the summer, but as things stand he is still a Leicester player and the club's hierarchy have repeatedly insisted that he is not for sale.

The one key player who has departed from the King Power Stadium is N'Golo Kante, and while Vardy and Mahrez stole most of the headlines last season, for me Kante was their best player. The French midfielder was a dominant presence in the middle of the park despite his diminutive stature, topping the league for tackles and assists and covering every blade of grass along the way. Just how big a miss he will be following his £32m move to Chelsea, only time will tell, but Nampalys Mendy certainly has big boots to fill in that midfield. The Foxes have also brought in Zieler, Hernandez, Uche Kapustka and record signing Ahmed Musa this summer, bulking up their squad for the added rigours of Champions League football that await them.

Musa gave a glimpse of what he can do in Leicester's last outing, despite the Foxes losing 4-2 at the hands of Barcelona. The Spanish champions raced into a 3-0 lead at half time, but Musa scored a second-half brace to give his side hope of the type of comeback that defined the first half of last season. One of those goals was a particularly memorable one as he produced a brilliant solo effort from the halfway line to score, but in the end they fell short. It was their third International Champions Cup match of the summer, and they failed to win any of those inside 90 minutes, with their only points coming courtesy of a penalty shootout victory over Celtic.

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: Sorry Leicester fans, but that last video is the extent of the Foxes' participation in the Charity/Community Shield, so we're on to Manchester United now. The last time they appeared in this match they also had a new manager looking for his first piece of silverware. It was David Moyes on that occasion and, while the Scot did get his hands on the trophy courtesy of a Robin van Persie brace against Wigan in 2013, it proved to be an ill-fated spell at Old Trafford.


It hasn't been the best pre-season for Leicester, in truth, with heavy defeats at the hands of PSG and Barcelona in the ICC perhaps hinting at a sign of things to come in the Champions League next term. Their only victories - in normal time at least - during pre-season came against Oxford and Nuneaton, so we may be able to get a better idea of just what to expect from them in the upcoming season here today. There is no doubt that they deserve their place in Europe's elite competition - they finished 10 points clear of Arsenal, 11 of Spurs, 15 of the Manchester clubs, 21 of Liverpool and 31 of Chelsea last season, after all - but whether they can hold their own in the Champions League is another thing entirely. It will be fascinating to see how they get on.

The Foxes will begin their Premier League title defence away to Hull City in the very first game of the new season next Saturday lunchtime, which is a relatively kind start for the champions. Things do get tougher after that, though, with five of the main title favourites to face in their opening 10 games - four of which come away from home. They host Arsenal in their second game of the season, and in every other game after that they travel to Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham respectively. They didn't struggle too much against the top teams last season, though, while their away form was comfortably the best in the league, so that run of fixtures may not look quite as daunting as it otherwise would have.

Before that, though, they will want more silverware with victory today on what is a very rare trip to Wembley for them. Indeed, it is Leicester's first match at the 'new' Wembley, while they haven't played at the national stadium at all since beating Tranmere Rovers 2-1 in the 2000 League Cup final. They actually had a decent record at the old Wembley, with three wins and a draw from their last five visits, and that draw was following by a replay victory over Middlesbrough in the 1997 League Cup final. All of that was a long time ago, though, and this will also be a new experience for Claudio Ranieri, who has never managed at this stadium before. He has insisted that this is not a friendly match and is keen to scoop a second trophy of his Leicester reign.

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: While Ranieri has never been here before, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was in his exact position just a year ago when he brought the then defending Premier League champions Chelsea to take on FA Cup winners Arsenal in the Community Shield. It was not a day to remember for the Portuguese, though, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the only goal of the game at Wembley to fire Arsenal to the first trophy of the 2015-16 campaign - one that ended prematurely and disappointingly for Mourinho.


Right, on to Manchester United now and where else to start that Monsieur Pogba, who has dominated the back pages for what seems like an eternity now. It has been the transfer saga of the summer and United look to bring the 23-year-old back to Old Trafford for a world-record fee of £100m, just four years after he left the club on a free transfer. The speculation has gone this way and that, and you could be forgiven for having grown tired of it already, but in the last hour there has been a fairly significant development, with Juventus reportedly giving the France international permission to undergo a medical at United. You can read the full report of that here as United edge ever closer to arguably the biggest transfer statement in English football history.

Pogba wouldn't be the first transfer statement of the summer from United, though, and it is fair to say that they have significantly strengthened their squad despite only bringing in three new faces so far. Eric Bailly was the first through the doors shortly after Mourinho's arrival, but the one everyone has been talking about - besides Pogba - was the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede has forged a reputation as one of the best strikers of his generation, and it is impossible to argue with his trophy record, so to get him on a free transfer was quite a coup for United. In true Zlatan style, he announced himself on the scene with a bicycle kick within four minutes of his debut, and United fans will hope to see a lot more of that in the upcoming season. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is another to have arrived at Old Trafford, and his presence adds yet more goals and assists to United attacking line - something that was sorely lacking last season.

So, with three big names - and a fourth seemingly to come - as well as Jose Mourinho coming in as manager, United will be expecting to vastly improve on their showing in the 2015-16 campaign. Louis van Gaal did end the season with a trophy - their first major piece of silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson retired - but that was not enough to paper over the cracks. They managed just fifth place in the Premier League, missing out on the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, in addition to crashing out of Europe's top-tier competition in the group stages despite a kind draw. A top-four spot will be the very least expected of United this season.

Mourinho has warned that it will take time for the players to adapt to his philosophy, though, and hinted in doing so that he wanted to rid them of their negative style of play under Van Gaal. It was that style which was perhaps the biggest bugbear for United fans last season, even more so than the results. United boasted the joint best defence in the top flight, but also scored a measly 49 goals all season - their worst tally in the Premier League era. It was also the lowest tally in the top eight of the table, while only Stoke scored fewer in the top 11. The fans may have been a little spoilt with the Ferguson era, but the very least they expect from a Manchester United team is attacking intent. Far too often they were boring to watch and seemed to be going nowhere last term.

The Premier League title is the goal for United this season, though, as they look to fire themselves back to the top of the English game, where they haven't sat since Ferguson left. The bookies make them second favourites behind Manchester City, but it is such a difficult league to call this season. As many as six teams - or seven if you include Leicester - will have realistic ambitions of winning the title, while the strength in depth further down the league with the likes of West Ham, Southampton and Everton will make things difficult too. It is sure to be the most competitive season in Premier League history, and even with all their spending and big-name arrivals, United are one of a number of teams who will need to be at their best more often than not if they are to even get a top-four spot.

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: Quite possibly the best Community Shield match in recent years came in 2011, with United and City squared off in a Manchester derby to kick off the new season. It looked as though City would gain the bragging rights too as they went into half time with a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Lescott and Dzeko, but United fought back in the second half and won a memorable match 3-2 in the Wembley sunshine.


TEAM NEWS! The team news is in at Wembley, and there are some big hitters on show!

LEICESTER STARTING XI: Schmeichel; Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs; Mahrez, King, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy
Subs: Zieler, Hernandez, Musa, Schlupp, Gray, Ulloa, Mendy


Manchester United are busy confirming that Pogba has been given permission to undergo a medical at the club, with the questionable hashtag #POGBACK, so while we wait for them to official confirm their team news, let's take a look at Leicester. The most notable thing is that Ranieri has kept faith with the players that got the club to this position, not naming a single new signing in the starting XI here. King replaces the departed Kante in midfield, but aside from that it is a very familiar team.

One of the features of Leicester last season was Ranieri settling on a first-choice XI and sticking with it whenever possible, and that loyalty looks like it could spill into the new season too. Schmeichel, who recently signed a new long-term deal at the club, keeps his place in goal for the Foxes, with Zieler on the bench, and in front of him is the same back four that performed so well in the second half of last season to push Leicester over the line. Morgan, as usual, captains the side have also committed his future to the club this summer.

MANCHESTER UNITED STARTING XI: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Shaw; Carrick, Fellaini, Lingard, Rooney, Martial; Ibrahimović
Subs: Romero, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Rashford

Further forward for Leicester, Mahrez is a notable inclusion despite the ongoing speculation surrounding his future, with King and Drinkwater inside him and Albrighton on the opposite flank - as was the case for the majority of last term. The front two is familiar as well with Okazaki partnering Vardy, who scored against United last season to break Ruud van Nistelrooy's Premier League record of netting in 11 consecutive games. The striker was a doubt for this match, but has passed a late fitness test and will be looking to add to his tally of one goal and one assist in three matches at Wembley, all of which have come for England. In terms of the new boys, Zieler, Hernandez, Musa and Mendy are all on the bench.

United, meanwhile, opt to include two of their new signings, the most notable of which is always going to be Ibrahimovic. I have already mentioned his goalscoring start to life as a United player, but the Swede has spoken in the build-up to this match about how every trophy is important. He made no secret of his desire to win this one today, insisting that he is not at United to waste time. This will be just his second appearance at Wembley, with the only previous one coming in a 1-0 defeat with his national team at the hands of England in November 2011.

Behind Ibrahimovic will be Wayne Rooney, fresh from his testimonial against Everton, and if he can hit top form this season then that could be a formidable partnership up front for United. He endured a disappointing campaign last term, failing to hit double figures of goals for the first time in his United career, but Mourinho's arrival may just inject a bit more life into the captain. Either side of him will be Anthony Martial, who showed a few glimpses of his undoubted talent last season, and Jesse Lingard's whose wonder goal in the FA Cup final got United to this game. Mkhitaryan, Mata and Rashford, incidentally, have to make do with the bench.

The holding midfielders chosen by Mourinho today are quite interesting. A few months ago, it was expected that neither Carrick nor Fellaini would be at the club for the start of the new season, with Carrick's contract expiring and Fellaini strongly tipped to move away. However, Mourinho has kept them both on and named them both in his starting XI here, with Herrera and Schneiderlin left on the bench and Schweinsteiger still in isolation. It certainly isn't the quickest of most agile pairing in midfield, so the energy of Drinkwater, King and even the two strikers could make things a little difficult for United.

The main injury doubt for United heading into this match was over Chris Smalling, who has been suffering from a muscular problem. The England international is suspended for the first game of the season anyway following his red card in the FA Cup final, and that may have played a part in Mourinho's decision to leave him out entirely here too. Instead, Bailly and Blind will act as the centre-back partnership as they did against Everton in Rooney's testimonial. It will be interesting to see who the first choice pairing is when Mourinho has the likes of Smalling and Jones available too. On the flanks, Valencia and Shaw complete the back four, while De Gea as ever is named in goal.

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: Manchester United were also involved in the 2010 Community Shield, and for the second year in a row Chelsea were the opponents. On this occasion, though, United ran out relatively comfortable winners at Wembley courtesy of a 3-1 triumph.


Right, back to the build-up and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has already said that he will treat this match almost like another pre-season friendly due to the unsatisfactory nature of their build-up so far. United will, of course, still want to win the game, but they are further behind in their preparations than they would like to be, thanks largely to an ill-fated tour of China. They flew halfway across the world to take part in the ICC, only to be thrashed 4-1 by Borussia Dortmund in their opening match. Next up was supposed to be a game against local rivals Manchester City - with the tasty sub-plot of Mourinho vs. Guardiola - but that game was abandoned due to poor weather, meaning that United made the gruelling trip to China just to be beaten 4-1.

Mourinho has admitted that it was not ideal preparation by any means, but United did bounce back when they travelled to Sweden to take on Galatasaray. Things started perfectly for them when Ibrahimovic opened his account early on, but the Red Devils found themselves behind at half time in Gothenburg. However, the second-half changes made a big difference for United and they scored four unanswered goals after the interval to cruise to a 5-2 victory in the end. Wednesday saw Rooney's testimonial back at Old Trafford against Everton, and that one ended in a goalless stalemate.

It has been a mixed build-up for United, then, and the fact that they are not quite where they want to be just yet could well have an impact on this game. Time is fast running out for them to get up to speed, though, with the start of their Premier League season now just a week away. Like Leicester, their opening match could have been tougher, with Bournemouth acting as their hosts down on the South Coast next Sunday, while after that they will take on Southampton and Hull. Their first major game of the season will see them take on Manchester City in their fourth outing.

City are the only one of the main title contenders that United will face in their first seven games of the season - discounting Leicester (at my peril, I know) - so they certainly could have had a more difficult opening to Mourinho's reign. However, the testing period comes after that, with games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all in their next five league outings. One thing is for certain - Mourinho will need to get off to a better start than he did in the Premier League last season, when his Chelsea team lost nine of their first 16 games to linger just above the relegation zone. Indeed, it was a defeat to this afternoon's opponents that was the final nail in his coffin at Stamford Bridge.

When it comes to this competition, Manchester United can boast an unparalleled history, winning the trophy 20 times from 29 appearances. That includes victories in five of the last six times they have featured in the curtain-raiser, in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Each of those times they have been Premier League champions rather than FA Cup winners, though, so their situation is slightly different today. Mourinho's record in this match is not so good, with just one win from four appearances, and that coming way back in 2005 against Arsenal. Since then he has seen his Chelsea side beaten by Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal in the Community Shield, and he has never gone on to win the Premier League title after losing the Community Shield - indeed on two of those occasions he was sacked not long afterwards. United asa club, though, have won their last four matches at Wembley since losing to Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final.

COMMUNITY SHIELD MEMORIES: The one exception from United's five wins from their last six appearances in the Community Shield came in 2009, against Mourinho's former club Chelsea. The Blues looked to be heading for victory in normal time until Wayne Rooney scored a 90th-minute equaliser to make it 2-2, and after no further goals in the additional 30 the match went all the way to penalties. It was Chelsea who came out on top in the shootout, though, winning it 4-1 to lift the trophy.


PREDICTION: Right, we're nearing kickoff at Wembley now so it is time for a prediction! This game could give us an insight into what to expect from both sides ahead of the upcoming season, but for now it is incredibly difficult to call. Leicester are still an unknown quantity in terms of what they will do after last season's heroics, while United aren't quite at 100% following a disrupted pre-season. Still, though, I am backing Mourinho's side to just about get the job done and run out 2-1 winners.

Nothing could separate these two sides in their two Premier League meetings last season, but both were memorable occasions. The first saw Jamie Vardy score in a record-breaking 11th consecutive Premier League match, only for his goal to be cancelled out by Bastian Schweinsteiger back in November. They met again in May when Wes Morgan scored a crucial header to level things up after Martial had broken the deadlock, and that proved to be Leicester's last game before they were crowned champions, with Tottenham blowing a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Chelsea just a day later.

Leicester's recent record against United is not a particularly good one, though. They have won just one of their last 15 meetings in all competitions, losing 11 and drawing three in that time. Their solitary victory was a memorable one, though, as Nigel Pearson's side twice came from behind to beat United 5-3 in September 2014 - one of the games of that Premier League season and perhaps the first glimpse into what made Leicester such a potent attacking force last season.

These two sides have only ever met once before at Wembley, and it came 53 years ago in the 1963 FA Cup final. Manchester United were victorious on that occasions, running out 3-1 winners courtesy of goals from Denis Law and David Herd (2).

Right, the anthem has been belted out and the players, fans and managers are just about ready to get going here!

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Craig Pawson gets us underway for this season curtain-raiser as Leicester and Manchester United do battle for the first trophy of the campaign!

United are dominating possession in these early stages, but not in position that will harm Leicester. They knock it around the back calmly and seem to have settled into the game quickly.

Vardy makes his first bright dart of the season, carrying the ball a long way on the left flank before racing past Bailly. Blind is across well to clear the danger, though, and he gets clattered into as a result.

Nothing major to report from the opening exchanges so far as both sides continue to feel each other out at a sunny Wembley Stadium. The Leicester fans are the louder of the two sets of supporters, but neither fan base have had too much to shout about so far.

It's all taking place in the middle third of the pitch in the opening stages here. Neither side has had so much as a sniff at goal, with Vardy's run into the box the closest we have come to goalmouth action yet.

SHOT! The first shot of the day comes from United as Martial runs at Mahrez and Simpson. He goes on the outside and earns a yard, but the angle is against him and he slams his effort into the side-netting.

CHANCE! Schmeichel is called into action for the first time today as Shaw's cross loops up off Mahrez and into the path of Rooney. He plants his header on target, but it is a routine stop for the Leicester keeper.

This match is being played a little like another pre-season game at the moment, in truth. There isn't a great deal of urgency from either side and we're yet to see our first real chance. Still a long way to go, though.

SAVE! Some good pressure from United here as they keep Leicester penned back in their own box. A ball bounces up in the area which Ibrahimovic and Morgan both go up for. Ibrahimovic gets up highest to win it, nodding it back to Fellaini, who swivels and volleys it towards goal, but it is a tame effort. Schmeichel still spills it, but recovers in time to collect at the second time of asking.

Good defending from Fuchs as he gets across to make a clean sliding challenge on Lingard before ensuring that the ball comes off the United man last, earning his side a goal kick.

CLOSE! Leicester have their first real sight of goal as Vardy comes forward before knocking it back to Okazaki. The striker tries to curl an effort in to the bottom corner, but it drifts narrowly wide of the target. It will be a corner for the Foxes, though.

OFF THE BAR! Okazaki comes even closer here! The resulting corner is swung in to a good area and Okazaki gets in front of his man before flicking a header against the crossbar!

Leicester are really starting to grow into this game now. They are enjoying their best spell of the match so far, and with that Okazaki header have come closest to scoring.

Mourinho has just made a minor tactical switch midway through this half, with Lingard and Martial swapping wings. Neither have been particularly involved so far today.

Another test for Bailly against Vardy as the Leicester striker takes the ball down well inside the area. He tries to push the ball past Bailly, who goes to ground and makes a good, clean sliding challenge. Any mistake there would have been a penalty!

Bailly is again involved from the resulting corner as he heads it away under pressure from Morgan, while Fuchs slices a volley well wide as the ball falls to him.

The opening half an hour has passed by at a fairly pedestrian pace, which is perhaps to be expected given that we are just a week away from the start of the Premier League season.

GOAL! Leicester 0-1 Manchester United (Jesse Lingard)

Finally, the match sparks into life with a fine solo effort from Lingard to break the deadlock! Lingard, who scored the stunning goal to send United to this match, opens the scoring here as he dances through a number of challenges before breaking into the box and keeping his composure to slide it past Schmeichel and into the corner. Leicester, and Morgan in particular, could have done a lot better defensively, but take nothing away from that goal.

That could be the goal this game needed to open things up a little. Leicester may need to come out of their shells a bit more to get back into this one, and that should give United a little more space too.

Another bright attack from United, this time down the left, as Shaw bombs forward from full-back. Martial slides a pass to him, but Huth does well to come across and deny Rooney a sight of goal.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Leicester to get an equaliser, and again it comes from a corner. King gets across the front man, but he is too far past the near post to be able to steer his header on target.

Here is the goal that separates the two sides as things stand. Jesse Lingard, take a bow. Wes Morgan - don't.



YELLOW CARD! The first yellow card of the afternoon is shown to Danny Simpson for a trip on Rooney, and the defender has no complaints.

Ibrahimovic has been noticeably quiet so far in this match, and the entire United front four has been switching around quite a lot. Zlatan has found himself out wide right, deeper in a number 10 role and on the left rather than just sticking as the focal point, but so far he hasn't been able to influence the game much.

Just a minute remains of this first half at Wembley, and it hasn't been a thriller in truth. Even so, we've seen a goal and Leicester hit the crossbar, so there has been the odd moment for the fans to get excited about.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

HALF TIME: Leicester City 0-1 Manchester United

The first half comes to an end at Wembley, then, and it is Manchester United who go into the break ahead. It hasn't been the best game for the neutral, but that is to be expected at this stage of the campaign, with both sides surely having one eye on the start of the new Premier League season. There have been chances at both ends, but in general they have been few and far between.

The only goal of the game so far came shortly after the half-hour mark, and it was another Wembley stunner from Lingard. Just a couple of months after winning the FA Cup for his side with a wonder goal, the youngster dribbled through a sea of blue shirts into the box before slotting his finish past Schmeichel. The defending left plenty to be desired, but Lingard still did really well to get in a shooting position and then to finish.

Leicester have hit the bar at the other end of the field, though, with Okazaki coming within inches of breaking the deadlock. Having come close moments before with a deflected strike that drifted narrowly wide, the Leicester striker got in front of his man from the resulting corner to flick his header against the woodwork. Blind was on the line, but he wasn't getting there had it just been a couple of inches lower.

Martial, Rooney and Fellaini have all had sights of goal for United too, but Ibrahimovic has been strangely quiet so far. He won a header against Morgan to nod the ball down for Fellaini inside the area, but that is about the extent of what we have seen from the Swede in that opening 45 minutes.

Each side can make six substitutions in the Community Shield, and we're expecting Manchester United in particular to make the full use of them. Mourinho wants to give as many players a run-out as possible to build up match fitness ahead of the new season, so there could be a few changes both at half time and throughout the second half.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! United get us back underway for the second half, and the first thing to tell you is that the Foxes have made a couple of changes at the break. Ahmed Musa and Demarai Gray are introduced in place of Okazaki and Albrighton. No changes for United.

Bailly has been very impressive so far today, and he does well again here. Firstly he shows good strength to deny Musa, before recovering to stop Vardy in his tracks. He does like to go to ground, but his timing in doing so has been good for the most part today.

Ranieri's name rings around Wembley as the Leicester fans show their appreciation to the manager to guided them to their greatest ever achievement last season.

CHANCE! Chance for Leicester as Luke Shaw mistimes his jump, which allows Mahrez in behind. He plays it in to Musa, but he can't sort his feet out and the chance goes begging.

GOAL! Leicester 1-1 Manchester United (Jamie Vardy)

Leicester are level, and who else gets the goal but Vardy?! It is a shocker from Fellaini as he cuts out a pass from Musa before selling De Gea well short with his attempted poke back to the keeper. Vardy is on it in a flash, getting to the ball well before De Gea before rounding the keeper, rejecting the chance to do gown for a penalty, and slotting it into the empty net from a tight angle. Vardy at his best there!

Rooney has a chance to go for goal and provide an immediate response for United, but he gets his shot all wrong and it flies a long way off target.

YELLOW CARD! King becomes the second man in the book for a sliding challenge from behind on Lingard.

The resulting free kick is flicked on and almost falls for Ibrahimovic, but Schmeichel does just enough to force the striker away from danger.

SHOT! Leicester quickly break up the other end through Musa, who has already shown glimpses of his pace. He cuts a pass across the field for Gray, whose long-range effort is tame and easy for De Gea to gather.

Almost a chance for Fellaini as Rooney hangs a cross up to the back post for the midfield, who has isolated himself against Simpson. It looks like a mismatch, but the defender does really well to win the header and also wins a free kick off the Belgian.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: United make their first change of the afternoon as Ander Herrera comes on in place of Carrick.

LEICESTER SUBS: Ranieri responds with a couple of changes himself as Nampalys Mendy and Luis Hernandez replace King and Simpson.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: ...and another change for United, this time enforced as Lingard limps off to be replaced by Juan Mata.

Not the best thing for Fellaini to do with a certain Paul Pogba set to add yet more competition for the midfield places at Old Trafford.



As the clock ticks into 66, Wembley rises as one to applaud the achievements of England's team of 1966. This year marks the 50th anniversary of their World Cup triumph, and Wembley is showing its appreciation here.

SAVE! Decent chance for United as Martial slides a clever reverse pass in to Fellaini, who doesn't seem to know what to do when he picks up the ball in the area. He ends up turning back and teeing the ball up for Rooney, whose curling effort is straight at Schmeichel.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: Two more changes for United as Marcos Rojo and Marcus Rashford come on in place of Shaw and Martial.

YELLOW CARD! Bailly is the first United player in the book for barging into the back of Vardy.

Gray whips the resulting free kick into a dangerous position and, while no Leicester players are close to getting on the end of it, De Gea does well to catch it down low with the sun in his eyes.

We're still level as he go into the final 20 minutes here, and if it stays this way until the end of the match then we will go straight to penalties. No extra time in the Community Shield.

YELLOW CARD! Vardy is the latest name in the book for a strong challenge on Mata. On first glance it is harsh as Vardy gets the ball, but nowadays you can't really go in like that.

Bailly may be walking a bit of a tightrope here. He goes into a messy aerial challenge inside the Leicester box and completely wipes out his man, and in a competitive match there would be a question of a second yellow. He has been a lot more erratic since I praise him...

A moment of hesitation at the back from Leicester between Huth and Schmeichel almost proves costly, but the keeper eventually commits and gets to the ball well to clear the danger.

OFF THE LINE! United almost regain the lead in strange circumstances as Fellaini flicks a header into a dangerous area that Rooney chases. He makes it difficult for Schmeichel and the ball squirms out to Ibrahimovic, but he can't react in time to get a good connection on his finish and that allows Drinkwater to hack the ball away from goal.

LEICESTER SUB: The champions make another change here as Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Fuchs.

CHANCE! Good chance for Leicester to get a second! Huth does well to beat Fellaini in the air and loop a header into the six-yard box, where Musa has stolen in behind Rojo. However, as he dives to reach the ball he can't keep his header down, instead helping it over the bar from close range.

GOAL! Leicester 1-2 Manchester United (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)

Well, he's been quiet today but Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have just won it for United! Valencia does well to earn a yard down the right flank before standing a cross up into the box. Ibrahimovic gets up above Morgan and gets just enough on his header to send it past Schmeichel and in off the post.

Is there any way back for Leicester now? They are running out of time, that is for sure. Musa in particularly will be regretting that missed chance just moments before Zlatan's goal.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: Another change for United, and still no Mkhitaryan as Morgan Schneiderlin comes on for Rooney.

LEICESTER SUB: Leicester make their final change of the afternoon, and it is a last throw of the dice as Leonardo Ulloa replaces Huth.

There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.

MANCHESTER UNITED SUB: One final change for United, and it must be an injury as Mata - a sub himself - is replaced by Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

FULL TIME: Leicester City 1-2 Manchester United

MANCHESTER UNITED WIN THE 2016 COMMUNITY SHIELD!

Manchester United pick up the first silverware of the 2016-17 season, then, which is certainly not a bad start for Mourinho and co. Ibrahimovic - another of the big-name summer arrivals - gets the winning goal as I'm sure the script dictated after Jamie Vardy had earlier cancelled out Jesse Lingard's opener. It is a good start to the new campaign for the Red Devils, but they will not need telling that the real business starts next weekend.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as Zlatan Ibrahimovic proves to be the match-winner to fire Manchester United to the first trophy of the Mourinho era. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now, and I'll see you in the new season!

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic in action during a Sweden training session on March 28, 2016
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