UNITED SUFFER THIRD CHARITY SHIELD DEFEAT
Sir Alex Ferguson's men rarely looked likely to threaten Ed De Goey in the Chelsea goal, during a match that saw The Blues have much the better of the play and secure a 2-0 victory over the reigning Premier League champions.
The first half was very much dominated by the FA Cup winners, with Gianluca Vialli's men having three good opportunities to take the lead, but both Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Stanic were unable to break the deadlock in the opening 15 minutes.
United suffered an early injury scare when French defender Mikael Silvestre limped off the pitch to be replaced by Dutch international Jaap Stam, who Ferguson had been resting due to a lack of pre-season preparation.
The United manager's miserable day was rounded off by the second half sending off of captain Roy Keane. A moment of madness from the Republic of Ireland international saw him bury his studs in Gustavo Poyet's calf, and referee Mike Riley had no hesitation in showing the red card.
Chelsea's first goal came from £15 million summer signing Hasselbaink, as his shot was deflected by the lunging Jaap Stam over the diving Fabien Barthez in the United goal after 23 minutes.
Vialli's men then doubled their lead through Mario Melchiot, who capped an excellent individual performance in the match with a goal on 73 minutes, after strolling through an unconvincing United defence.
The match failed to come to life throughout the 90 minutes, and even the second half arrival of Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, who came on to replace Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could not inspire United to step up their game.
United will go away from the game in the knowledge that their last two seasons have started in a similar fashion, and have both led to successful campaigns, but that will be little compensation for the fans that saw their team put on a lacklustre display.
