English Premiership: What we learnt from the FA Community Shield.

Hey folks, the English Premiership 2016 - 2017 season officially kicked off on Sunday with the traditional curtain raiser - The FA Community Shield played at Wembley Stadium.

The game usually is played between the Premiership Champions and the FA Cup winners. In this case, it was between Leicester City and Manchester United.

Well, the match panned out just like I posted on an ESPN article which previewed the FA Community Shield, that stories like Leicester City's fairytale of last season happens once in a blue moon.

Here are what we learnt from the Community Shield contest.

• Ibrahimovic will deliver the goods this season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring the winner.

Ibrahimovic is a proven winner as he has won 30 titles in his footballing career prior to the Community Shield. In his debut, he scored an audacious scissor-kick just inside four minutes in their 5-2 victory over Galatasary and on Sunday, in his first competitive match, he scored the winner in the curtain raiser. That goal was trademark Ibra. 

Expect more of such goals this season from the Swedish International as the Red Devils compete in four competitions.

• Manchester United are title favorites.

The Red Devils are title contenders.

What better way to announce your title aspirations than defeating the Premiership Champions in the curtain raiser plus the imminent arrival of Paul Pogba from Juventus to an already star-studed squad.

These two teams played out a score draw in both fixtures last season. A win in the Community Shield indicates Manchester United mean business this term.

All of England, BEWARE!!!.

• Riyad Mahrez may be affected by transfer speculations.

Is Riyad Mahrez thinking of leaving the foxes?

The Algeria playmaker who won the PFA player of the year award last season has been repeatedly linked with a move to Arsenal but Claudio Ranieri has consistently rejected such speculations.

Never really understood what was happening to Mahrez. Kept expecting him to make plays but he looked anonymous throughout the game except when he was about to take the corner-kicks. His decision making in the game was really poor, kept dribbling himself plus couldn't make those tantalizing crosses that were reminiscent of his game last season.

• Leicester City will miss N'Golo Kante.

Will the foxes miss N'Golo Kante?

We can't certainly say that had N'Golo Kante remained a Leicester City player that he would have prevented Jesse Lingard from running through the defence. But, the pint-sized midfielder specialised in breaking up attacking forays of opposing teams with reckless abandon.

In the match, Andy King started in his role but isn't as bullish as the French International.

We hear Nampalys Mendy is the natural heir. Well, the season will certainly tell us.


Click play to view highlights of the match.