Edwin van der Sar was the shoot-out hero as Manchester United clinched a Community Shield triumph over Chelsea at Wembley.

Marginally better than a drab FA Cup final in May, England's top two remained level at full-time after Florent Malouda had cancelled out Ryan Giggs' first-half opener.

But then came the real drama as Van der Sar pulled off three successive saves, denying David Pizarro, Frank Lampard and Shaun Wright-Phillips, offering Wayne Rooney the chance to step up and win the trophy as he maintained United's 100 per cent record.

The victory will probably mean little in the nine-month slog that lies ahead but at least the Premier League champions have another trophy to sit alongside the big one, and gained some measure of revenge for their defeat three months ago.

In a sense, the early exchanges were more about who was not playing that who was. John Terry, reportedly for a month, Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba were absent from the blue corner, while Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Gary Neville were among those missing from the red.

In the absence of so many star names, Wright-Phillips shone for a while, beating both Mikael Silvestre and Patrice Evra during one mazy right-wing raid. With David Beckham almost certain to miss England's August 22 friendly against Germany, Wright-Phillips has a big incentive to start the campaign well. But it was his flank partner Maluoda who had the most telling impact.

It was the Frenchman's free-kick that Michael Essien got a head to as United's goal was threatened for the first time. Jon Obi Mikel, sold by the Red Devils to Chelsea for £12 million a year ago after an acrimonious dispute, flung himself forward at the far post but was unable to prevent the ball floating wide.

Malouda also had a fierce shot saved by Van der Sar before he did manage to find the net a minute before half-time, showing impressive speed and strength to first beat Rio Ferdinand, then resist the defender's illegal attempts to hold him back.

By that point, Giggs had already put United in front, marking his 10th Community Shield appearance in style. Wright-Phillips failed to follow Patrice Evra's off-the-ball run after the Frenchman had laid off a short pass to Cristiano Ronaldo. Evra collected Ronaldo's through ball, raced to the by-line, then cut a superb pass back which invited Giggs' clinical finish; amazingly his first goal at Wembley since his days as an England Schoolboy.

As Giggs had already given Petr Cech the chance to save a low shot when the Welshman had found himself clear on goal, his successful effort was adequate compensation and came at a time when United were well on top.

Malouda's leveller put a different slant on the respective half-time team-talks of Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, although the on-going feud between Rooney and Tal Ben Haim was another topic for discussion in the stands.

Three years ago, the FA slapped a three-match ban on Rooney after the striker shoved Ben Haim in the face during his Bolton days. Rooney has clearly not forgotten the perceived injustice and, after referee Mark Halsey had booked Ben Haim for a clear foul on Rooney, the United man sought retribution with a lunge at the Israeli in first-half stoppage time.

Unfortunately for Rooney, Ben Haim saw it coming, nudging him away, a move which resulted in the England forward clashing with Petr Cech instead, triggering a booking.

While a prolonged absence for Terry would be a concern to Mourinho, unlike last season, at least Cech is fully fit. The Czech goalkeeper came to Chelsea's rescue again just after the break when he denied Ronaldo, Glen Johnson flying in to block Giggs' follow-up.

Substitute David Pizarro flashed a shot wide not long after Ferguson had introduced Nani for his first game in a United shirt on English soil.

Just to prove he is human after all, Cech made a rare mistake in failing to make any contact with Nani's inswinging corner, although neither Ronaldo nor Nemanja Vidic could profit as Steve Sidwell booted clear to spare his team-mate's blushes.

It was the last meaningful chance either side had until the lottery of penalties. Ferguson's record in such contests is so bad, he must have felt like giving Chelsea the trophy there and then. This time though, there was a happy ending for the Scot, with Van der Sar and Rooney the United matchwinners.

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