Most memorable Community Shield Finals

It is the curtain raiser ahead of the new Premier League season, and here we look back at the most memorable Community Shield Finals from over the years.

The FA Community Shield is the first opportunity for a club to win some silverware, and it is a game that acts as a curtain raiser ahead of the new season. This year is no different, as fierce cross-city rivals Manchester City and Manchester United are set to go head to head at Wembley to win the 2024 Community Shield on Saturday 10th August, with the game set to kick off at 15:00. (VIP Tickets available here)

This is not the first time that these two great rivals have met in the Community Shield, but we will look back at their previous encounters in this competition later on.

This game sees the winner of the previous season’s FA Cup and Premier League go head to head for what is a blockbuster match to open the new campaign. The game was originally named the ‘FA Charity Shield’ from its foundation in 1908, but it was renamed to what it is known as today, the ‘FA Community Shield’ almost 100 years later in 2002.

The most recent Community Shield contest took place in the English Capital back on 6th August 2023 before last season got underway. It saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City go toe to toe back on 6th August 2023. After goals from Cole Palmer (77’) and Leandro Trossard (90+11’), the game would go on to be decided via spot kicks, with the Gunners ultimately winning 4 – 1 on penalties.

This was one particularly memorable match that saw two title contenders face each other under that famous Wembley arch, with Arsenal landing the first blow of the upcoming title race.

There have been a number of other memorable FA Community Shield matches over the years, and here we will take a look at some of them.

Chelsea 2 – 3 Manchester City (2012)

Ironically, the first entry onto this list did not take place at the iconic Wembley Stadium, as a result of the Final of the 2012 Olympic Games’ Football Final being played there on that day. Instead, this very memorable 2012 Community Shield Final took place at the historic Villa Park in the West Midlands, with Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City coming out on top with a 3 – 2 win against Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea.

In the match itself, it was Chelsea who took the lead when Fernando Torres broke the deadlock just before half time in B6. The Spaniard’s strike did give the Blues from West London an advantage going into the half time break, but this lead was not to last very long. Yaya Toure would restore parity less than ten minutes into the second half (53’).

City then completed the turnaround to take the lead through Carlos Tevez a few minutes later (59’), before his side then scored a third goal through Samir Nasri that seemingly put the game firmly to bed (65’). Left back Ryan Bertrand did score to make it a tense last few moments (80’), but Chelsea were not able to find the back of the Cityzens’ net for a third time and were defeated on the day as a result.

Manchester City 2 – 3 Manchester United (2011)

We now move on to another game that ended in 3 – 2 for our second entry onto this list. This was the second time that Manchester City and Manchester United had met in the Community/Charity Shield. United were 1 – 0 winners in their inaugural encounter in this competition all the way back in 1956, thanks to a goal from inside forward Dennis Viollet (75’).

Fast forward to 2011 for the second time that they have faced each other in this game, and United was victorious once again by the aforementioned 3 – 2 scoreline over the Cityzens.

City took the lead in the first half through central defender Joleon Lescott (38’), before their lead was doubled thanks to a stoppage time strike from Edin Dzeko (45+1’), shortly before the whistle went for half time. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils were able to mount an incredible comeback over the course of the second half, scoring through Chris Smalling (52’) and a brace from Portuguese forward Nani (58’, 90+4’).

Chelsea 2 – 2 Manchester United – Chelsea won 4 – 1 on penalties (2009)

The next entry on this list is the 2009 FA Community Shield Final between Chelsea and Manchester United, led by managers Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson at the time. An entertaining match under that very famous Wembley arch in the English Capital saw these two English heavyweights draw 2 – 2 before Chelsea then went on to win 4 – 1 on penalties.

United took the lead early on in this contest thanks to a goal from Nani (10’), and despite both sides having some chances to add some more goals to the scoreline throughout the remainder of the first half, the Portuguese’s goal was the only one of the opening half of the game, so the Red Devils were a goal up at half time.

However, this 1 – 0 lead did not last long in the second half, with Blues central defender Ricardo Carvalho scoring the equaliser to restore parity just moments into the half (52’). Chelsea legend Frank Lampard then completed the comeback, making it 2 – 1 to the West London side with just twenty minutes to go (70’). However, in dramatic fashion, United’s legendary forward Wayne Rooney scored an equaliser deep into stoppage time to take it to extra time.

With no goals in extra time, Chelsea did win 4 – 1 on penalty kicks, with Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, and Salomon Kalou finding the back of the net from the spot for the Blues. For the Red Devils, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra both missed their penalties either side of Michael Carrick’s successful spot kick.

Arsenal 2 – 1 Manchester United (1999)

Arsenal vs. Manchester United is one of the highest profile fixtures in English, European, and Global Football, and the two Premier League heavyweights met in the 1999 FA Charity Shield Final at Wembley Stadium.

The 70,185 strong crowd at Wembley Stadium was there to witness what was to be an immense comeback from Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal that day. Dwight Yorke did give United the lead midway through the first half (36’) before goals from Nwankwo Kanu (67’ – Penalty) and Ray Parlour completed the comeback in the second half (78’) to seal the win and the early season silverware for the Gunners.

This win for the North London outfit was Manchester United’s first defeat of the calendar year in 1999, ending a streak of 33 games without a single defeat in all competitions.

Leeds United 4 – 3 Liverpool (1992)

The final entry on this list is the incredible FA Charity Shield match between Howard Wilkinson’s Leeds United and Graeme Souness’ Liverpool just ahead of the inaugural Premier League season on Saturday 8th August 1992.

Eric Cantona gave Leeds the early advantage with almost half an hour gone (26’) before Ian Rush scored for Liverpool to restore parity at 1 – 1 just a few minutes later (34’). Tony Dorigo then gave Leeds a 2 – 1 advantage just before half time (43’).

It was parity once more midway through the second half when Dean Saunders made it 2 – 2 (65’) before Eric Cantona got his second goal of the game to give Leeds the lead once more with barely more than twenty minutes to go in the contest (77’). Cantona then scored the goal to complete his first career hat-trick with just a few minutes remaining in normal time to make it 4 – 2. Whilst this goal sealed the win, Liverpool did halve the deficit to make it 4 – 3 a couple of minutes later through a Gordon Strachan own goal (89’).

Excitement and anticipation are building ahead of the 2024 FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium in a 15:00 kick-off on Saturday 10th August 2024. The 2024/25 Premier League campaign will then be getting underway on Friday 16th August 2024.

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