David De Gea looking to adapt quickly at Manchester United

The Spanish goalkeeper has dismissed contrasts between the Premier League and La Liga and wants to improve immediately at Old Trafford

By Adam Hedley

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea maintains he must adapt quickly to Premier League life in order to fill the void left by Edwin van der Saar.

The 20-year-old completed his move from Atletico Madrid this summer but got off to a nervous start as Manchester City's second goal, a long-range strike by Edin Dzeko, was the result of an error on the part of the Spaniard.

De Gea has refuted contrasts between La Liga and English football and insists he needs to settle in quickly at Old Trafford.

"No, football is football here and in any country," he told Sky Sports.

"I have to adapt quickly and improve on the whole of my game."

Manchester United sparked an impressive revival after finding themselves two goals down at half-time. Chris Smalling sparked the turnround before Nani's brace ensured the Community Shield would be heading to Old Trafford.

"The two goals we conceded in the first half stopped us in our tracks but in the second half we were able to claw back and I think that's the important thing. I'm very happy about the victory," said De Gea.

Nani's first would be of particular encouragement to Manchester United fans as his deft chip over Joe Hart was the finishing touch to a fine piece of build-up play involving Tom Cleverley, Anderson and Wayne Rooney.

"It was a beautiful goal and the lads in the dressing room were very happy," said De Gea.

Manchester United's Chris Smalling believes David De Gea will learn from his Community Shield error against Manchester City

Former Fulham man also pleased with his performance at right-back and says he can contribute in that position throughout the season

By Adam Hedley

“After the 30 odd games that I played last year the aim is to really kick on and play more.

“Hopefully I can start to get some more games at centre-back but if the manager feels that I can play the odd game at right-back then it’ll help if I can contribute.”

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling believes David De Gea will learn from his error in the Community Shield.

The Spanish goalkeeper, signed from Atletico Madrid this summer to replace the retired Edwin van der Saar, was considered partly to blame for Manchester City's second goal as he let past Edin Dzeko's powerful, but sighted, long-range effort, despite it not being in the corner.

United sparked an impressive second-half turnaround and Smalling insists his new team-mate has quickly put his mistake behind him.

"He’ll learn from things like that and he made some good saves in the second-half," Smalling told Talksport.

"It is good to see that he is not going to be down and out about it.”

Smalling played out of his usual centre-back position at Wembley but put in a solid performance at right-back behind Nani, and the former Fulham defender feels he wil be able to aid the team in that area during the season.

“After the 30 odd games that I played last year the aim is to really kick on and play more," he said.

“Hopefully I can start to get some more games at centre-back but if the manager feels that I can play the odd game at right-back then it’ll help if I can contribute.”

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini rules out move for Inter star Wesley Sneijder

Italian insists he is not trying to sign the Dutch star and admits City squad is worse than Manchester United's after Community Shield defeat at Wembley

By Greg Stobart at Wembley

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has ruled out the possibility of signing Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder this summer.


Reports in Italy over the weekend had suggested that City had agreed a €36 million (£31.4m) deal for the Dutchman but Mancini says Sneijder is not on his radar.

When asked whether City are trying to sign the 27-year-old, Mancini replied: “No, it's not true. Sneijder is an Inter player, we haven't talked about him.”

The Italian admits he does want to make further additions to his squad after City were beaten 3-2 by bitter rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield on Sunday.

United laid down a marker for the season with a stunning second-half performance having been two down at the break and Mancini admits the Red Devils have the strongest squad in the country.

He added: “I think United have the top squad in the Premier League at the moment. They are better than other teams. We need to improve, we need to complete our team and find our best form.

"But United are a top team. I think they played better than us but when you go up 2-0 you need to control the game.

“I think, for us, it's important to understand why we lost this game. We need to have a strong mentality because if we play against another strong squad in the Premier League or Champions League, we need to continue to play football and not dip like we did in the second-half.”

Sir Alex Ferguson hails quality of Manchester United performance in Community Shield comeback

The Scottish manager feels the win was a fair reflection of his side's quality, praising the contributions of the younger players that highlights the depth of his squad

By Chris Myson

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the quality of football produced by his players after they came from two goals down to beat Manchester City 3-2 in a remarkable Community Shield clash at Wembley.

The Red Devils were shading a tight first half, but two goals in quick succession from Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko ensured it looked like the Shield was heading to the Blue half of Manchester.

However, United rallied after the break, and after Chris Smalling struck to give his side hope, two goals from Nani – one of which arrived in stoppage time – completed a tremendous comeback, which delighted the manager.

“I hope it bodes well for the season,” Sir Alex told Sky Sports after the match.

“Certainly I thought the performance over the course of the whole game was very good in terms of the football we played.

“I couldn’t believe we were 2-0 down at half-time, to me we had been controlling the match.

“Goals change games though and they got the first goal then another just before half-time, which was a killer for us.

“But huge credit to the players, they kept their heads, kept playing their football and got the result they deserved.

“The great thing about today was we never got intimidated by City’s tackling. We just kept the ball and kept playing - I thought it was fantastic.

“The players all wanted to take the ball – it’s a great quality to have and our players showed that. 

“We had 13 players under 23 in the squad today, then we’ve got the likes of Chicharito and Valencia – lots of young, talented players not even playing – we’ve got a really good squad.”

The United manager was reluctant to criticise David de Gea for Dzeko’s goal, which found the net from long-range and said he had always planned to make a number of changes in the latter stages of the game with the new Premier League season now only a week away.

“We were always going to make our substitutions,” he said.

“We have to expose the likes of Jones, Evans and Smalling to this kind of top-level football.

“I was going to make six changes, but when we got the second goal I decided to stay with it. We used five in the end and left one alone.

“Dzeko’s shot was bending a lot and the goalkeeper has to react quickly to move back onto his other foot so it’s difficult to say if David was at fault for that one.”

Sir Alex was then informed that the last four winners of the Community shield had gone on to become League champions.

“That sounds good to me - I hope the omen continues,” he laughed.