Chelsea beat Manchester United on penalties in the traditional curtain-raiser to the English Premier season in a fast and dramatic encounter that saw four goals in regular time and an equal amount of spilled opportunities from both sides.
 
But in a dramatic Manchester United comeback from a late Wayne Rooney equaliser which eventually led to a penalty shootout, United veteran Ryan Giggs lost his nerve and was the first one to miss his penalty, paving the way for Ancelotti’s first ever trophy as a manager in England.
 
Frank Lampard was on target for Chelsea from the spot, and then Michael Ballack made it 2-0. Carrick scored for United but Didier Drogba was ruthless in turn, making it 3-1, which was followed by a dreadful penalty attempt from Patrice Evra, saved by Peter Cech. Kalou then stepped up and sealed the victory for the Londoners.
 
The encounter started as one would expect from such an occasion, with fast pace and plenty of aggression, and it took only 10 minutes for United’s other Portuguese striker, Nani, to put the Red Devils ahead with a fine strike. Thereafter, the champions continued to dominate the match for the remainder of the first half.
 
After the break however, Chelsea had the upper hand as they gradually outmuscled the ball from United in the middle of the park.
 
Florent Malouda chested a pass from Frank Lampard's and forwarded it on towards Didier Drogba, who unleashed it on Ben Foster. The United keeper was alert and managed to block it, but the spilled ball fell on Ricardo Carvalho who headed it in the net for 1-1.
 
Chelsea then maintained pressure on the accelerator and after a dubious referee decision not to stop the game after Evra was struck in the face by Michael Ballack, Chelsea mounted a counter-attack, which ended in Drogba passing the ball to an unmarked Frank Lampard who beat Foster again: 2-1 for Chelsea and United fans and players were slightly peeved.
 
It looked like a Chelsea victory in regular time, when Wayne Rooney came to the rescue in the dying seconds, intercepting a pass from Ryan Giggs's and clinically putting the ball past Petr Cech.
 
But it was Chelsea to keep their cool and extract the most out of the penalty shootout. Thus, the Ancelotti reign at Stamford Bridge starts with another trophy which the Italian can add it to the pre-season friendly cup Chelsea won in America. Neither of the aforementioned trophies are likely to keep him employed at the Bridge if that’s all he’s got at the end of the season, however.