LONDON, England, August 12 – Manchester City warmed up for their Premier League title defence with a 3-2 win over 10-man Chelsea in the Community Shield at Villa Park on Sunday.
Roberto Mancini’s side are defending champions for the first time in 44 years and they are in no mood to relinquish their crown on the evidence of this vibrant display.
City fell behind in the 40th minute when Fernando Torres struck for the European champions, but they took control of the annual curtain raiser to the top-flight season, which kicks off next weekend, after Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was sent off for a foul on Aleksandar Kolarov just before half-time.
Yaya Toure equalised for City in the 53rd minute of a fiesty encounter which featured eight bookings.
Carlos Tevez put Mancini’s men ahead with a superb strike six minutes later and Samir Nasri tapped in their third goal in the 65th minute.
An 80th minute strike from Chelsea substitute Ryan Bertrand couldn’t stop City winning the Shield for the first time since 1972.
