Some charity match. It was meant to be a gentle raising of the curtain, a lazy Sunday afternoon re-introduction to the two winners of England's most sought after silverware, the Premiership and the FA Cup. And indeed it began with handshakes and smiles between Gianluca Vialli and Alex Ferguson in the tunnel.
But, 62 minutes into the last Charity Shield to be staged beneath Wembley's famous twin towers before their November demolition, all the friendly banter was erased when Roy Keane left the imprint of his sole on the calf of Chelsea's Gustavo Poyet.
Keane was shown a red card by referee Mike Riley without hesitation and now faces a ban of at least three domestic games in September. The dismissal was an echo of the first Charity Shield to be held at Wembley, in 1974, when Leeds' Billy Bremner and Liverpool's Kevin Keegan became the first players to be sent off in Wembley's then 51-year history.
Yesterday Keegan was present in his role as England manager - though only five of the 22 starters were Englishmen - and must have reflected as Keane made the long unaccompanied walk from the centre circle to the United dressing-room.
The red card inevitably distracted attention away from what was a poor display from the champions, although the size of Ferguson's smile as he ascended the Wembley steps at the end suggested he recalled that Manchester United had lost the previous two Charity Shields yet still went on to win the League.
Vialli is hopeful that the "convincing performance" here is a sign of steel to come and that purchases such as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will make a difference.
Yet, given that Vialli stated that he would have to deconstruct his squad following Chelsea's meek defeat at Old Trafford in April and that he has spent £24.6 million on additional personnel this summer, it was, nevertheless, an instantly recognisable blue side which took to the field. Nine of them started the FA Cup final against Aston Villa in May, with Didier Deschamps and George Weah having moved on to accommodate Mario Stanic and Hasselbaink.
From the beginning, thankfully, Chelsea were a lot more inventive than in the cup final. Poyet's skill and athleticism takes him a long way quickly, and the Uruguayan was central to most of Chelsea's early pressure. This was such that Stanic could have scored twice and Hasselbaink once before the Dutchman eventually gave Chelsea a deserved, 24th-minute lead, though in slightly fortuitous fashion.
Poyet won a header in midfield which, with Ronny Johnsen caught out of position, turned into a through ball. Hasselbaink seized it but delayed sufficiently for Stam to slide across and make contact with the ball. Unfortunately for Stam - on for the injured Mikael Silvestre - and debutant Fabien Barthez, the contact deflected the ball over Barthez and in.
But Chelsea were worthy leaders. United's passing was slack and predictable, and even when they did manage to engineer an opening Marcel Desailly was imperious at the back. It was not until Paul Scholes ran onto a David Beckham pass a minute before half-time that United seriously threatened Ed de Goey's goal. Scholes stabbed his shot wide.
When play resumed it was a similar story of Chelsea control and United stiffness. It was a bit too one-paced from the champions, and then a measure of niggle was allowed to creep in due to some lenient refereeing. When Hasselbaink trod on Keane's ankle it was never likely to be the end of that particular story. Sure enough, Keane then felled Poyet and was off.
Chelsea retained their shape and managed to give another new signing, Eidur Gudjohnsen, a run out. It was 2-0 by then, as Mario Melchiot, an impressive Bosman free transfer from Ajax last year, had exchanged passes with Gianfranco Zola and Stanic before drilling a low shot through the legs of Stam and past Barthez into the corner.
Thus Chelsea had their first Charity Shield. "We wanted it," said Vialli. It will be different when they meet in September.
Chelsea: de Goey, Babayaro, Leboeuf, Desailly, Poyet (Le Saux 77), Hasselbaink, Wise, Stanic, Melchiot, Di Matteo (Morris 70), Zola (Gudjohnsen 73). Subs Not Used: Ambrosetti, Flo, Lambourde, Cudicini. Goals: Hasselbaink 22, Melchiot 73.
Man Utd: Barthez, G Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Silvestre (Stam 19), Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Giggs (Fortune 78), Sheringham (Yorke 70), Solskjaer (Cole 70). Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, P Neville, Butt.
Referee: M Riley (Leeds).
