Robin van Persie reinforced his status as Manchester United's leading striker during Wayne Rooney's absence Sunday by clinching a 2-0 victory over Wigan to open the David Moyes era with a win in the Community Shield.
Van Persie headed the Premier league champions in front after six minutes and netted again with a deflected strike in the 59th against the FA Cup winners in the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season. "Robin scored two today and that's what we rely on," midfielder Michael Carrick said. It was United's first visit to Wembley Stadium without Alex Ferguson since 1985. The 71-year-old Scot retired in May after nearly 27 years as manager.
The biggest problem Ferguson left Moyes was the need to resolve the future of Rooney. Moyes has been steadfast through an offseason of agitating by the unsettled striker that he would not be sold, with two bids from Chelsea rejected. Rooney was ruled out of all the official preseason fixtures and Sunday's match due to hamstring and shoulder problems, according to United. But, adding to the mystery, Moyes said that while Rooney is in line to play for England against Scotland on Wednesday, he's unlikely to be fit for United's Premier league opener at Swansea on Saturday.
The reason for Rooney's frustration seems to be Van Persie, with the Netherlands striker moving above him in the pecking order since joining a year ago from Arsenal.And Van Persie took just six minutes to find the net at a sun-drenched Wembley in north london. After Van Persie sent the ball to Evra on the left flank, the left back crossed the ball back to the forward in the penalty area to head past goalkeeper Scott Carson. It was game over, with Wigan rarely posing a threat.
Winning the FA Cup was the high point for Wigan last season, with its first major trophy success followed by relegation from the Premier league. It was Moyes being hand-picked by Ferguson to replace him at Old Trafford that led to Wigan losing manager Roberto Martinez after the cup triumph. After Martinez headed to Everton, Owen Coyle was hired by Wigan.
The league Championship season is already under way, and returning to the world's richest league is Coyle's priority, even with a Europa league campaign to look forward to starting in September. The couple of opportunities Wigan did have to equalize were squandered against the 20-time English champions.