United made to pay the penalty

Chelsea 2, Man United 2

(Chelsea 4-1 on pens)

SIR Alex Ferguson was critical of Manchester United’s lack of a killer instinct as Chelsea scored a psychological blow over the title rivals before the new Premier League campaign has kicked off.

The Reds manager maintained his side ought to have had victory secured in the FA Community Shield at Wembley and never allowed Chelsea a toehold back into the game which they won following a penalty shoot-out.

He said: “We were in control in the first half when we ought to have put the game to bed as we produced some good attacking play.

“We should have been three or four goals up. When you have opportunities in big matches, if you do not put them away you can suffer as we did.”

Ferguson, who was “disappointed” by the defeat. also had a blast at referee Chris Foy for not giving the foul on Patrice Evra which had a massive bearing on the match as Chelsea scored their second goal from the resulting breakaway.

He was critical of Foy for not halting play as he had done so twice previously.

“The referee made a rod for his own back as twice before he stopped play when Nani and Ballack went down so I cannot understand why he did not stop the game when Evra went down. It is an area in which I feel we need to find a solution,” he explained.

Ferguson admitted it is a problem, pointing out that players often go down far too easily and, when opponents kick the ball out of play, they jump to their feet straightaway.

It was to prove one of the most competitive and compelling Community Shield matches for many years and far from an early-season kickabout.

Chelsea right-back Branislav Ivanovic struck the crossbar before United drew first blood in the 10th minute when Nani cut in from the left and shot across keeper Petr Cech into the far corner.

Ji-Sung Park, Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Fletcher were all denied by Cech as United ought to have built on their advantage.

Chelsea also had a couple of clear-cut chances, but failed to trouble keeper Ben Foster.

Chelsea equalised early in the second half when Foster collided with Didier Drogba while attempting to catch a cross from Florent Malouda and Ricardo Carvalho headed into an empty net.

Suddenly the match turned Chelsea’s way as Foster beat out a shot from Nicolas Anelka and then Nani went off with a dislocated shoulder.

Ferguson conceded that Chelsea were the better team in the second period and they took the lead in the 71st minute following a breakaway after Evra was elbowed by substitute Michael Ballack.

Drogba set up Frank Lampard whose shot was pushed on to an upright by Foster but crept over the line before bouncing back into play.

Yet there was a further twist when United unexpectedly equalised in the second of three minutes of injury time.

Rooney latched on to a through ball from Ryan Giggs and coolly slotted the ball past Cech to force a penalty shoot-out.

But there was to be no fairytale finish as United lost a Community Shield shoot-out for the first time after five previous successes.

Giggs and Evra both had their weakly-hit spot kicks saved and Chelsea had a 100-per-cent record from their four penalties to give new manager Carlo Ancelotti his first piece of silverware.