The Blues denied United a third successive Community Shield, with yet another being decided on penalties. Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad rates the players.
CHELSEA
Petr Cech - 7 - Guilty of poor positioning and letting Nani's good shot look a little too great as United took the lead, but made three good saves from Park, Berbatov and particularly Fletcher thereafter, to keep Chelsea in the game.
Branislav Ivanovic - 5- Was run ragged, particularly in the early stages, by a combination of Nani, Evra and even Rooney. Certainly had his work cut out, and when the ball broke for him at the other end from a corner, he couldn't quite get past the man on the line.
Ricardo Carvalho - 8 - Was a solid, if not occasionally cynical figure, at the back and was in the right place at the right time with a cool head - in every sense of the word - to draw Chelsea level just when they needed it.
John Terry - 7 - Made a series of strong last-ditch challenges and looked a man fully focused on the season ahead, with the weeks of Manchester City transfer speculation firmly behind him.
Ashley Cole - 6 - Wasn't always at his best with the ball at his feet going forward, but manned his flank well enough to avoid United getting too much joy.
Jon Obi Mikel - 5 - Overrun from early on, struggled to contain United's fast-moving forward runners. As time went on, he got better adjusted to getting his foot on the ball and easing the pressure on Chelsea, but he's not quite looking like Makelele just yet.
Michael Essien - 7 - Energetic as ever and looked to be first to every ball. As the game progressed, he certainly played a vital part in closing down United's passing game and ensuring Chelsea were the stronger side in the second half.
Florent Malouda - 6 - Had a big miss on the volley and was otherwise tidy, without being particularly impressive in possession. Never really able to penetrate the United defense either on a run or with a cross.
Frank Lampard - 7 - Shadowed by Fletcher in the early stages but grew into the game in the second period, kept his head to score the goal that put Chelsea in front and also scored in the penalty shootout, albeit not with one of his best efforts.
Nicolas Anelka - 7 - Showed good movement and energy, not to mention a willingness to shoot and shoot well. Perhaps deserved more for his efforts.
Didier Drogba - 6 - Was his usual physical presence up front and showed glimpses of his powerful shooting ability and clattered into Ben Foster which led to Chelsea's first. Good penalty as well - and the cliched question is: would he have done the same in Moscow?
Substitutes
Jose Bosingwa - 7 - Showed in the second half why he is a better right-back than Ivanovic. His pace and more natural positional sense made him a lot more difficult to beat.
Michael Ballack - 6 - Didn't do a whole lot after coming on, other than cause controversy. First for going to ground a little too easily and winning a foul, then for bodychecking Patrice Evra and not being disciplined for his trouble, as Chelsea went down the other end and scored. Put away his penalty, of course.
Deco - n/a.
Salomon Kalou - 7 - Didn't do a lot in open play, but scored the winning penalty in sensational style.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Ben Foster - 5 - Shaky all round. Perhaps could have claimed under threat from Drogba and almost certainly should have done better to prevent Lampard putting Chelsea in the lead.
John O'Shea - 7 - Showed good touch early on and confidence up and down his flank.
Jonny Evans - 7 - Looks like carrying on his impressive form from last season into this one. Very solid and dealt with the threat of Drogba quite well.
Rio Ferdinand - 7 - A bit off the pace, but didn't let it show too often in what was generally a comfortable performance.
Patrice Evra - 7 - The center of attention. He was outstanding for the majority of the game, and was controversially fouled after which he was down and out and Chelsea went on to score. Played an eventual part in United losing the encounter with his penalty in the shootout, which made Gareth Southgate's look like vintage Zidane.
Ji-sung Park - 5 - Quite simply lacked finesse when it mattered. He missed a chance under difficult circumstances early on, but from then on, as United played their deft touches going forward, far too many of his were misplaced.
Michael Carrick - 6 - Not bad, but not good enough. There will be a vast amount of onus placed on Carrick's shoulder's to be United's heartbeat from center midfield all season, and while he enjoyed a fruitful and fairly carefree opening 25 minutes, when Chelsea began to squeeze, he struggled to make an impact.
Darren Fletcher - 7 - Tracked Lampard well early on and had a good shot of his own when at his most confident. A solid outing.
Nani - 7 - Certainly did his best Cristiano Ronaldo impression on the afternoon, full of running, skill, goal-threat and, for good measure, a sweetly struck opening goal from outside the area. He did, though, let Carvalho go to head home the equalizer.
Dimitar Berbatov - 7 - Showed great touch and more work rate than he is often credited with, but never quite hit top gear or got into the box to really make his classy touches count in front of goal.
Wayne Rooney - 8 - Already looks a little more like the Rooney of which every England fan has been dreaming. A relentless forward free role, always classy in possession and perhaps his only flaw was a lack of a consistent goal threat. Just to prove a point, then, he showed quite incredible composure to latch onto a Giggs throughball and stick a left-footed effort past Petr Cech at the death to take the game to penalties.
Substitutes
Luis Antonio Valencia - 6 - The new signing looked short of pace and ideas. Certainly had the work rate to put in a solid shift down the right flank, but not a lot more beyond that.
Ryan Giggs - 7 - Played a delightful through ball for Rooney, from which he equalized, but disappointed with an abysmal penalty at the beginning of the shootout.
Michael Owen - 6 - Certainly eager - maybe a little too eager - to prove himself in his first competitive game for United. A couple of inches away from potentially heading home from a Giggs set-piece, though.
Paul Scholes - 6 - Some good distribution, as always, in his brief cameo.
Fabio da Silva - 7 - Looked full of running and smart in possession, though not overly involved during his short appearance.
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