Nani brace caps United's rally
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Shanghai Daily, August 8, 2011
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Manchester United's Nani (right) takes the ball around Manchester City's Joe Hart to score his team's third and winning goal during their English FA Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium, London, yesterday. |
Nani scored in injury time yesterday to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Manchester City in the season-opening English FA Community Shield, completing his team's comeback from 0-2 down.
The English Premier League champion trailed to goals by Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko despite dominating chances and possession but got back in the game when Chris Smalling tapped in Ashley Young's 52nd-minute free kick. Seven minutes later, Nani lifted the ball over goalkeeper Joe Hart to round off a sparkling team move.
The Portugal winger then robbed Vincent Kompany near the halfway line, ran unchallenged into the area and rounded Hart to score.
Lescott was arguably City's best player at Wembley in London, blocking a close-range effort by Smalling on the line and deflecting a free kick by Nani past the post before he headed in David Silva's 38th-minute free kick.
While City's attacking players were overshadowed by Nani, Young, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, central defender Lescott also made a crucial challenge on Rooney in the 69th after a three-on-two opening for United.
Argentina forward Sergio Aguero was an unused substitute for City, which had seemed happy to settle for a penalty shootout until Nani's second goal.
With the match heading for a penalty shootout, United cleared a corner and confusion in the City defense allowed Nani to race clear after beating Kompany, round Hart and slot the ball calmly into an empty net.
The game was littered with yellow cards and rash tackles, with Mario Balotelli squaring up to Nemanja Vidic and rolling on the ground claiming injury when he fell attempting to get out of a tackle by Nani.
Dzeko and Anderson were both booked in the first half when they went chest to chest following the striker's tackle from behind, while City fullback Micah Richards was lucky not to get a red card for a high two-footed lunge on Young.
Referee Phil Dowd only booked the defender.
But the 77,169 fans at Wembley were also treated to plenty of entertaining football, most of it from United.
Young, Nani, Rooney and Welbeck - picked to play up front instead of Dimitar Berbatov - combined well without carving open clear openings.
Lescott beat Rio Ferdinand to the ball to make it 1-0 before new United goalkeeper David de Gea was at fault for Dzeko's goal - allowing the Bosnia striker's speculative shot from long range to slip over his outstretched hand.
Manager Alex Ferguson revamped his central defense for the second half, introducing Phil Jones and Jonny Evans for Vidic and Ferdinand, and brought on young midfielder Tom Cleverley for Michael Carrick.
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