Manchester City came from behind to beat 10-man Chelsea 3-2 at Villa Park and win the FA Community Shield.
Community Shield success for Mancini's men after comeback
Manchester City came from behind to beat 10-man Chelsea 3-2 at Villa Park and win the FA Community Shield.
Second-half goals from Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri turned things around after Branislav Ivanovic's red card before the break.
And while substitute Ryan Bertrand did pull one back late on after a slip-up from Costel Pantilimon, City were just too strong for their opponents in an ominous display.
Roberto Mancini's men had started the brighter of the two teams with James Milner and Aleksandar Kolarov getting forward well as wing-backs in a 3-4-1-2 formation.
But despite looking the more threatening, they found themselves a goal down just after the half-hour mark thanks to the resurgent Fernando Torres.
Ramires beat two men cutting in from the right and managed to find the Euro 2012 golden boot winner in the box who lifted the ball left-footed over the advancing Pantilimon.
Last season's FA Cup winners, Chelsea, hardly had time to celebrate before Ivanovic lunged in two-footed on Alexander Kolarov.
While the Chelsea player ended up with the ball, replays showed the defender had caught his compatriot heavily on the ankle and referee Kevin Friend issued a straight red card.
Backs-to-the-wall
Chelsea still got to the interval ahead and would have been entertaining hopes of another backs-to-the-wall effort after all the dramas of their UEFA Champions League run last season.
But Toure soon put paid to those ambitions with a drilled effort early in the second half and Tevez then put the Premier League champions ahead with a stunning individual goal.
Soon after, Nasri finished off an excellent team goal following good work from Kolarov as City threatened to overrun their beleaguered opponents.
This is a Chelsea side prepared to fight in adversity, however, and when Bertrand followed up Daniel Sturridge's shot there were brief thoughts of another remarkable comeback.
But it was not to be and - in echoes of May - City were once again left celebrating on the pitch with the trophy after the final whistle.
| Chelsea |
Team Statistics |
Manchester City |
| 2 |
Goals |
3 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
8 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 5 |
Corners |
9 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 5 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 80.6 |
Passing Success |
87.2 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
16 |
| 66.7 |
Tackles Success |
93.8 |
| 33.7 |
Possession |
66.3 |
| 47.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.8 |
| 320 |
Total Passes |
640 |
| 15 |
Total Crosses |
30 |
| 124 |
Lost Balls |
142 |
| 58 |
Recoveries |
56 |
| 37.3 |
1st Half Poss. |
62.7 |
| 29.1 |
2nd Half Poss. |
70.9 |
|
