CARDIFF, 9 August 2004 — Arsenal drew first blood in their annual battle for supremacy with Manchester United when they won the Community Shield 3-1 at the Millennium Stadium yesterday.
Second-half strikes by Gilberto, Jose Antonio Reyes and a Mikael Silvestre own goal gave the champions victory over the FA Cup winners in the English season’s traditional curtain-raiser.
Although both teams were missing key players, Arsenal deserved their win over a United side with one eye on Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Bucharest.
The Gunners were without the injured Patrick Vieira, Fredrik Ljungberg and Sol Campbell but inspired by Spanish striker Reyes and 17-year-old midfielder Francesc Fabregas they produced an efficient performance. With the recent heat and humidity replaced by damp, overcast conditions in Cardiff, both sides started with gusto in a first half that somehow remained goalless. Arsenal forwards Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp were denied by American goalkeeper Tim Howard while Jermaine Pennant wasted the best chance of the half when he side-footed wide of an empty United goal after Henry’s shot was saved.
United also showed plenty of attacking intent, with new signing Alan Smith buzzing around to good effect.
Zola Bids Belated Farewell
to Adoring Chelsea Fans
In London, Gianfranco Zola returned to Chelsea for one last appearance yesterday and said a tearful goodbye to the fans who adored him for seven memorable seasons.
Chelsea beat Real Zaragoza 3-0 in a friendly as new coach Jose Mourinho fine-tuned his plans for the new season but still found time to give Zola, now with Cagliari, a run-out that was greeted by a huge standing ovation.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” Zola said. “It was emotional and an incredible response from the crowd.” The Italian forward was even given the captain’s armband and convinced everyone he would still be able to terrorize Premier League defenses at the age of 38 just as he did in 1996 when he joined from Parma for 4.5 million pounds ($8.20 million).
Celtic Make Winning
Start to Title Defense
In Glasgow, Scottish champions Celtic began the defense of their Premier League title with a stylish 2-0 home victory over Motherwell yesterday.
Celtic captain Jackie McNamara — who had unfurled the league flag to commemorate last season’s title triumph before a vibrant 60,000 Parkhead crowd prior to kick-off — gave his side an ideal start with a powerful long range opener on seven minutes. Alan Thompson crossed for Chris Sutton to tuck home the second on 55 minutes after Celtic had squandered several first-half chances to increase their lead. O’Neill also praised Sutton after watching the English striker notch his 50th league goal four years after arriving from Chelsea.
Celtic probably should have won by a greater margin as Hartson blazed over on the half hour while Sutton saw a header hacked off the line and a shot shave a post either side of halftime.
Stuttgart Beat Bundesliga
Newcomers Mainz 4-2
In Berlin, a hat trick by Brazilian striker Cacau helped VfB Stuttgart to a 4-2 win over Bundesliga newcomers FSV Mainz yesterday.
Mainz, promoted to the Bundesliga last season for the first time in their 99-year history, played aggressive, attacking football but their defense proved vulnerable.
The day’s only other Bundesliga match resulted in a goalless draw between Arminia Bielefeld and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
