Sergio Aguero scored in either half as Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-0 in the 2018 Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.
The Argentina international marked his return to the Citizens' side by opening the scoring 16 minutes in following some good play by Phil Foden.
Bernardo Silva claimed an assist for the second shortly before the hour, meanwhile, slipping the ball through for Aguero to tuck away his 201st goal in Man City colours.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Community Shield clash between Manchester City and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. The English champions, who enjoyed a record-breaking campaign last time out under Pep Guardiola, face off against the FA Cup holders in the traditional curtain-raiser for the new top-flight season
The Citizens have consolidated over the off-season, bringing in Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City in a £60m transfer, while the Blues have added talented defensive midfielder Jorginho to their ranks - a player Guardiola was desperate to sign. City will simply be looking to push on from a highly impressive 2017-18, although in the case of their opponents far more is expected after finishing a lowly fifth in the top flight.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Caballero; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, David Luiz, Alonso; Jorginho, Fabregas, Barkley; Pedro, Morata, Hudson-Odoi
SUBS: Bulka, Christensen, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Moses, Willian, Abraham
Starting with a look at the Chelsea team news, Sarri has been able to name a fairly strong XI, even accounting for the absence of a number of his World Cup stars. Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and N'Golo Kante will all be eased back into action in the early stages of the new season, but the Blues do at least have Brazilian forward Willian back in their ranks today - he is among the subs.
There are no real surprises in Sarri's first competitive XI as Blues boss, in fact, as Pedro, Alvaro Morata and Callum Hudson-Odoi retain their places in attack. The latter has been Chelsea's best performer during pre-season, particularly catching the eye in the friendly with Arsenal earlier this week, while Morata alongside him - now holding the number 29 shirt at Stamford Bridge - is in need of a morale-boosting performance.
Jorginho is handed a competitive debut in the middle of the park, meanwhile, and Sarri has kept faith with Ross Barkley - it has been a positive summer for the Englishman, who is now in a strong position to start against Huddersfield Town next weekend. Cesc Fabregas has shaken off a minor injury to start, meaning that Danny Drinkwater is kept on the bench, but there is no sign of Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the squad.
In the centre of defence, David Luiz is preferred to Andreas Christensen, who is still being eased back into the side following his run to the knockout rounds of the World Cup. The Brazilian will start alongside Antonio Rudiger, the scorer of Chelsea's opening goal against Arsenal in midweek - scoring early has been a theme of the Blues' summer campaign. Elsewhere, the versatile Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso start at full-back, as expected, and Willy Caballero - not the impressive Marcin Bulka - is given the nod in goal.
MANCHESTER CITY TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Bravo; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy; Fernandinho, Foden, Bernardo; Mahrez, Sane, Aguero
SUBS: Ederson, Kompany, Gundogan, Otamendi, Jesus, Diaz, Gomes
As for Man City, Pep Guardiola has been able to name a far stronger XI today compared to his two weeks out in the United States. Kyle Walker and John Stones have both returned following England's run to the World Cup semis, while Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero are also back involved for the first time. Benjamin Mendy returned to training early but has no minutes under his belt, so it could take the Citizens a bit of time to get going.
The inclusion of Aguero up top is a huge boost for Guardiola, who has had to rely on younger players so far - the majority of whom will be lucky to get any minutes in the cup competitions, never mind the Premier League. Aguero has five goals in his last five games against today's opponents, three of which came in a league match just over two years ago. The Argentina international also has three strikes at Wembley, which only Yaya Toure - now a free agent - can match in a City shirt.
Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez are both included out wide - the latter was an injury doubt after returning from the club's pre-season tour with a leg brace, but those concerns were eased earlier in the week and he now has a chance to get some more minuted under his belt. Sane, meanwhile, was surprisingly overlooked for selection against Bayern Munich, with Guardiola hinting at concerns over the German's fitness levels.
Claudio Bravo is given the nod between the sticks for the fourth game running, with first choice Ederson now back among the subs, and the back four is comprised of returning duo Walker and Stones, Aymeric Laporte and the aforementioned Mendy. Throw Vincent Kompany, Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and Ilkay Gundogan into the mix - each of whom are back on the bench - and it is fair to say that this City squad is looking far stronger than last week.
City won the title last term in record-breaking fashion, accumulating the most points of any side in Premier League history - eventually hitting the three-figure mark thanks to victory over Southampton on the final day - while also claiming the most wins and goals scored in a season, as well as the best goal difference. It will be near impossible to top that this time around, but merely retaining the title is a big challenge in itself.
The Citizens finished a whopping 19 points better off that Manchester United and 30 in front of fifth-placed Chelsea, who had lifted the title 12 months beforehand. Not since 2009, when Sir Alex Ferguson was at the Old Trafford helm, has a Premier League side retained the title, yet it is tough to work out exactly where the challengers - Liverpool and United in particular - will make up those points this time around.
Guardiola has only added Mahrez to his squad this summer. The Algeria international is a good acquisition, putting pressure on the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane, and as Guardiola stressed this week the versatile ace can also slot through the centre if required. A deep-lying midfielder was also high on the Catalan's priority list, however, and after missing out on Jorginho he has reportedly opted to wait another year before strengthening in that department.
It has not been ideal preparation for City, either, as they have only just welcomed back the vast majority of their World Cup players, with this the final chance for Guardiola to experiment before the real business gets underway. If Guardiola has indeed finished in the transfer window, it means that he now has to motivate near enough the same group that won the league last time out to pick themselves up and go again. That is no easy feat, explaining why so few teams retain the title.
City lost to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool in the United States, although as touched upon already they did field a skeleton side for both games. The 3-2 win over Bayern Munich last weekend was much more pleasing for Guardiola, who saw his side recover from a couple of early goals to claim victory in the International Champions Cup clash - Bernardo Silva registering twice and Lukas Nmecha also finding the net.
This is City's final pre-season outing before the Premier League season starts, whereas Chelsea still have Lyon to face at Stamford Bridge two days from now, giving Sarri a chance to field Courtois, Hazard, Kante and Willian - the latter of whom will probably also get 30 minutes or so today. It is worth pointing out at this point that the Community Shield has been won by the FA Cup holders in each of the last four years, so that is not the best of omens as far as City are concerned.
Man United were the last side to win this fixture as reigning Premier League champions, and it has been a fair few years since the side that lifted the Community Shield went on to finish top of the table 10 months later. This is not exactly a fixture to make too many judgements, then, particularly in a World Cup year when teams take a little longer to get up to speed.
DID YOU KNOW? Manchester City last played in the Community Shield six years ago when beating Chelsea 3-2 at Villa Park. That was the fourth time that they have won this early-season fixture, having also prevailed in 1937, 1968 and 1972. The Blues, by comparison, have also won it four times, but not since 2009 when seeing off Manchester United 4-1 on penalties.
Manchester City have won on their last two visits to Wembley Stadium, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 here in a Premier League game four months ago and Arsenal 3-0 in February's EFL Cup final. A word of caution, though - not since 1970 have they won three successive games at the national stadium. Chelsea have won 20 fixtures at the old and new Wembley; only Spurs (32), Manchester United (23) and Arsenal (21) have won more.
Chelsea are embarking on another new chapter this season, with Maurizio Sarri the man tasked with getting the Blues back on course following a disappointing campaign last time out, even accounting for their FA Cup success. The West London outfit finished fifth in the top flight, a year on from winning the competition, continuing the theme of being a Yo-Yo club in recent years.
If recent history is anything to go by, Sarri should guide Chelsea to the title this time around. There is no doubt that, while Antonio Conte could bow out with his head held high - he did win the Premier League and FA Cup in two years at the helm, after all - the club became incredibly stale last season, pretty much right from the first weekend when suffering a shock home defeat to surprise package Burnley.
Sarri impressed during his three years at Napoli, where his style of play entertained neutrals the world over, and he so nearly ended their long wait for silverware last season. The bottom line, though, is that Sarri's men faded away in the final stages of the campaign, and the 59-year-old is still seeking his first major silverware in professional management. It is, at best, a calculated risk by Roman Abramovich.
The arrival of Sarri means a switch in formation for Chelsea, who stormed to the title with a three-man defence last year but were too often caught out last time around. Four at the back should make for less goals conceded, and in Jorginho they have the perfect deep-lying midfielder to harry opponents and start attacks from deep. Throw N'Golo Kante into the equation and one of Fabregas, Barkley or Loftus-Cheek, and all of a sudden the Blues already look a lot stronger on paper.
Despite the ongoing transfer talk, Courtois, Hazard and Willian look likely to remain Chelsea players for at least another year. That leaves just one position that needs strengthening, with Morata unfortunately not doing enough to fill the void left by Diego Costa. Morata started his maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge on fire, but a terrible second half to the season leaves Chelsea very light through the middle.
Worryingly for Chelsea, they have tried and failed to sign Gonzalo Higuain, and with four days of the window left to run it is looking likely that they will have to stick with Morata. This is another chance for the Spaniard to get back on track, four days on from missing a penalty and a couple of other big chances in the Blues' 1-1 draw with Arsenal. For the first 30 minutes, Sarri's men were well on top in Dublin, only to cede too much possession and eventually lose on pens.
As well as losing to Arsenal on penalties, Chelsea also played out a 1-1 draw with Inter Milan in Nice and beat Perth Glory 1-0 Down Under. Having won the FA Cup, the Blues' pre-season plans were ripped up, explaining the stop-start nature of their summer programme and the strangely-placed fixture against Lyon next week. Sarri has at least been given a chance to get his players familiar with this new system.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! This is the third meeting between these two sides at Wembley Stadium, with Manchester City winning the most recent clash 2-1 when they met in the FA Cup semi-finals five years ago. Chelsea have lost the last two encounters overall - 1-0 home and away in the Premier League last term - but have not lost three in a row since September 2010.
With kickoff in the English capital now just a couple of minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Maurizio Sarri: "First of all I'm looking forward to playing at Wembley, because it's my first time. The match will be very difficult for us. I want to win, because it's very important to have immediately a trophy. But in this moment of the season, it's very important, the performance. We have to improve, of course."
Pep Guardiola: "I'm happy a manager Sarri is here. I will learn a lot and see him every weekend. We are going to improve because of his ideas. I've seen three games and he gets it. The team already in a short time plays like he wants. He needs more time but his ideas are already there. It's going to be a good game. Chelsea will be a big rival, they always are. I think he will be perfect for English football."
KICKOFF: FA Cup holders Chelsea, victorious here against Manchester United a little over two months ago, gets us up and running against Premier League winners Manchester City in the 2018 Community Shield. Jonathan Moss is the referee, and VAR is in use this afternoon.
Chelsea are the more settled of the two sides, with Sarri being pretty consistent with his starting lineups during pre-season. Man City looking the brighter early on, though, as Leroy Sane brings the ball forward and scuffs one wide of goal.
A sloppy pass from Pedro nearly let Man City in, but Antonio Rudiger did well to bail out his teammate. Surprised to see the Citizens take control of proceedings early on at a humid Wembley Stadium.
Good play from Bernardo Silva, who performed well against Bayern Munich last week, as he gets towards the byline and clips the ball into the middle. Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez were waiting, but neither could get on the end of it.
Hudson-Odoi, very impressive this summer, has his first chance to run at the City defence. Rather than go at Walker, who is no doubt a little stale, the youngster instead went central and lost the ball. Chelsea yet to find any real rhythm here.
Man City have looked the brighter team early on at Wembley. Bernardo Silva's cross was dangerous but not pounced on by Aguero or Mahrez, while a Leroy Sane shot from 20 yards ended wide of the target in the best of the early openings.
Jorginho is seeing plenty of the ball in midfield, but Chelsea are struggling to get into the final third of the field. Plenty of closing down from both sides, which will surely take its toll in these difficult London conditions.
GOAL! MANCHESTER CITY 1-0 CHELSEA (SERGIO AGUERO)
Two hundred goals in a Manchester City short for Sergio Aguero! Phil Foden, the most inexperienced of the Citizens' starters, carried the ball forward and laid it off for his teammate, who picked his spot in the bottom corner from just inside the box.
City have been the team in control of the ball in the opening quarter of the match and they now have a nearly lead to show for it. Chelsea backed off far too much for that breakthrough goal, with Foden doing the hard work and Aguero finishing impressively past his compatriot.
Walker steers the ball behind for a Chelsea corner - a good choice, as he had Hudson-Odoi lingering behind him. The Citizens deal with the first set piece, and from the second a minute or so later it was glanced clear.
SAVE! All very straightforward for City as some sloppy play from their opponents, failing to deal with a simple pass, allows goalscorer Aguero to get a shot on target. This was far more simple for Willy Caballero to deal with down the middle.
Six goal attempts for City so far, two of which have been on target. Chelsea, on the other hand, have yet to get in a single effort of any sort. New boss Sarri will not be all that pleased with that he has seen from his side.
We have not seen enough of Hudson-Odoi, Morata or Pedro in the opening half an hour. Chelsea are starting to see more and more of the ball, however, with Man City now backing off just a little. City lead through Aguero's strike 13 minutes in.
More sloppy play from Chelsea, this time from Jorginho who was caught in possession. The ball was slipped through for Leroy Sane, who could not get it under control. Willy Caballero raced out to collect before the shot arrived.
A very disjointed display from Chelsea at Wembley, in stark contrast to the opening 30 minutes against Arsenal in midweek. Man City have taken their foot off the gas since edging in front, yet they are still the side that are looking the more dangerous.
Morata's attempted curler into the top corner is poor, sending the ball well wide of the target to signal the first drinks break of the afternoon. That was Chelsea's first attempt - blocked, wide, on target or otherwise - of the contest.
The match has become very sloppy over the past five minutes or so, not helped by that drinks break - although it's understandable why the short stoppage has been introduced today. Chelsea still struggling to do anything with the ball in the final third.
SHOT! Callum Hudson-Odoi joins Alvaro Morata in curling a shot wide of the target and into the stands. Still, at least the Blues are now managing to get shots away now. A more evenly-contested match over the last 10 or 15 minutes.
SAVE! Chelsea are growing in confidence now. Callum Hudson-Odoi, two minutes after curling an effort wide, gets a slightly better attempt on target that Claudio Bravo could only parry. Thankfully for the City stopper it was cleared away for him.
A poor touch from Riyad Mahrez in the Chelsea box prevents him from getting a shot away. No real flow to the match in this first half, with Man City starting brightly but fading since opening the scoring through Sergio Aguero.
Interestingly, Sarri is giving instructions to Danny Drinkwater in the Chelsea dugout so we could be about to see our first change. Chelsea have grown into the match, though, edging things in terms of possession and shots over the last 10 minutes.
Pedro is carrying on knock, so we may see Drinkwater come on at the break if Sarri is considering changing things around. If not, Willian is more of a direct replacement in the wide position. Chelsea continuing to probe away in the closing stages of the half.
Good trickery from Riyad Mahrez to go inside his man and then outside, but the intended cross clipped Marcos Alonso and was gathered by former Man City keeper Willy Caballero. Two additional minutes to be played at the end of the first half.
Good trickery from Riyad Mahrez to go inside his man and then outside, but the intended cross clipped Marcos Alonso and was gathered by former Man City keeper Willy Caballero. Two additional minutes to be played at the end of the first half.
Good trickery from Riyad Mahrez to go inside his man and then outside, but the intended cross clipped Marcos Alonso and was gathered by former Man City keeper Willy Caballero. Two additional minutes to be played at the end of the first half.
Good trickery from Riyad Mahrez to go inside his man and then outside, but the intended cross clipped Marcos Alonso and was gathered by former Man City keeper Willy Caballero. Two additional minutes to be played at the end of the first half.
HALF TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 1-0 CHELSEA
Almost another horror moment from Claudio Bravo at the end of the first half, as he allowed the ball to bounce over his head before running back to gather. Manchester City take a 1-0 lead into the half-time interval thanks to Sergio Aguero's goal 16 minutes in.
Man City look far closer to full strength this afternoon compared to their previous three friendlies in this disjointed pre-season, welcoming back the likes of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero from the off. Despite a number of their players running out for the first time this summer, it was the Citizens who settled the quickest.
One of the returning players in Aguero made the most of some space right on the edge of the opposition box, tucking the ball out of compatriot Willy Caballero's reach following some good build-up play from Phil Foden. After reaching 200 goals in a City shirt, Aguero came close to extending his tally as he capitalised on some slack defending and sent a shot straight at Caballero.
Chelsea, four games into their summer programme, did grow into the first half and finally managed to create shooting chances more than 30 minutes in. Alvaro Morata was wayward with his intended curler, and Callum Hudson-Odoi did not fare much better as he also picked out the stand rather than the net. Pre-season star Hudson-Odoi came closer before the half was out, though, making better contact with his next shot which Claudio Bravo could only parry.
BENCH WATCH!
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Ederson, Kompany, Gundogan, Otamendi, Jesus, Diaz, Gomes
CHELSEA SUBS: Bulka, Christensen, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Moses, Willian, Abraham
KICKOFF: We are back up and running at Wembley Stadium, where Pep Guardiola has made a half-time change. Ilkay Gundogan is on for Leroy Sane, who is believed to have picked up a knock in the opening 45 minutes. Chelsea chasing a goal in this second half.
SHOT! Chelsea lose possession through Jorginho - not the first time today, it must be said - but Aguero could only drag his shot wide of goal after charging 20 yards forward. The Blues need to get the ball to their forward players more often.
Willian has been sent to warm up by Sarri, meaning that we could see a change before the hour mark - for Pedro or otherwise. Guardiola has plenty of options of his own, including returning Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus.
CHANCE! Sergio Aguero wasted a glorious opportunity to double Man City's lead. The club's record goalscorer was played clean through and rounded compatriot Caballero, but after doing the hard work his could not squeeze the ball in, instead finding the side-netting.
SAVE! Chelsea's high line is being well and truly exposed by Aguero early in this second half. Another shot on target for the Citizens, this time from youngster Phil Foden. It lacked precision and Willy Caballero made a pretty straightforward stop.
That potentially killer second goal for City looks as though it will arrive sooner rather than later. Sarri must surely be looking at the options available to him because the Citizens are well on top and creating some good chances.
Chelsea still lacking any real urgency as we approach the hour mark at Wembley. They need to be a lot more direct, with a different option up top not going amiss! Chelsea win a corner, which Claudio Bravo punches well clear.
GOAL! GOAL! MANCHESTER CITY 2-0 CHELSEA (SERGIO AGUERO)
Sergio Aguero has a second, Manchester City have a second, and that could well be game over. Once again the Citizens have plenty of space to operate in, with Bernardo Silva biding his time before slipping the ball through for Aguero to tuck past Willy Caballero.
CHELSEA SUBS! Callum Hudson-Odoi has had one of his quieter games this summer and is replaced by Willian, while Danny Drinkwater is on for Cesc Fabregas. Those changes have come five minutes too late.
Six changes available to both managers today, which both will surely take advantage of. Guardiola has made just the one alteration so far, bringing on Gundogan for Sane at the interval due to a knock picked up by the German.
The Man City fans making plenty of noise in the stands now, having seen their side pick up from where they left off last season. Chelsea have lacked rhythm pretty much through and look a fair way short of the levels shown by their opponents.
A little over 20 minutes to play at Wembley and Chelsea are in desperate need of a goal. Pedro gets a weak shot away, which crawled wide of the target. Good play from Willian prior to that shot on the Brazilian's first outing of the summer.
SHOT! Riyad Mahrez takes the shot on from 20 yards, sending the ball a few inches wide of its intended target. Man City are cruising towards the finish line here, sitting comfortably on a two-goal lead with 20 minutes left to play.
MANCHESTER CITY SUB! Gabriel Jesus is brought on for his first appearance of pre-season. Rather than taking off two-goal Sergio Aguero, though, Guardiola instead brings off debutant Riyad Mahrez. A short stoppage now for a drinks break.
Chelsea also made a change during that drinks break, with Tammy Abraham on for Alvaro Morata. Another disappointing afternoon for the Spaniard, who had very little to feed off. Two changes made by City, three by the Blues.
SAVE! Phil Foden ghosts in around the back post to meet a deep free kick with his head, but David Luiz read it well and cleared the ball for a corner once it arrived in the middle. From the set piece, the ball is worked to Sergio Aguero and his volley is hit right at Caballero.
MANCHESTER CITY SUB! Phil Foden is the latest Man City player to pick up a knock. The Englishman carries on for a minute or so before being replaced by fellow youngster Brahim Diaz, who has been used throughout pre-season.
We are now into the final 10 minutes of the Community Shield, and there is no real sign of the scoreline changing. The chances have dried up over the past 15 minutes or so, with Man City looking very comfortable.
CLOSE! Brilliant play from highly-rated youngster Brahim Diaz, who skipped past Marcos Alonso and blasted the ball into the side-netting - half of Wembley thought it was in. Sergio Aguero has now been placed, with Vincent Kompany on. Victor Moses also takes over from Pedro.
A Chelsea goal really would make things interesting, but they have offered next to little to suggest that they have one in them - never mind the two required to extend this game by a further 30 minutes. City with 56% of possession in the second half.
SAVE! Brahim Diaz has looked very lively since coming on, really getting at the tired Chelsea backline. A decent shot down low at the end of this attacking move, too, which Willy Caballero was able to keep out. City closing in on a third goal.
SAVE! A powerful shot on target from Gabriel Jesus, but once again it is too close to Willy Caballero and the keeper made the stop. Victor Moses with a chance to slip in Tammy Abraham at the other end, but Vincent Kompany produced a big tackle.
City, who now have Nicolas Otamendi at centre-back in place of Aymeric Laporte, are just a couple of minutes away from adding more silverware to their collection. Otamendi clears up at the back when the ball popped up awkwardly in the box.
Into the second of four added-on minutes at Wembley Stadium. This has been a great way for City to ease their way back into action, although from Chelsea's point of view they have been extremely disappointing. Plenty for Sarri to work on.
FULL TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 2-0 CHELSEA
MANCHESTER CITY WIN 2018 COMMUNITY SHIELD!
Manchester City win their first silverware of the 2018-19 campaign thanks to a straightforward and convincing 2-0 win over FA Cup holders Chelsea. Three months after lifting the Premier League title, the Citizens soon found their groove and got the job done through a couple of Sergio Aguero goals.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Wembley Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to stick around for updates from Manchester United's high-profile friendly against Bayern Munich a little later. See you then!
