Rooney: We Gave City a Lesson

Wayne Rooney claimed that his Manchester United side gave City a "footballing lesson" in the Community Shield. United mounted an impressive comeback to win 3-2 against their rivals Manchester City, who had taken the lead through a Joleon Lescott header, when David De Gea was hesitant, and a long-range strike from Edin Dzeko that caught the Spanish shot-stopper off guard.

But the Red Devils rallied in the second half to claim victory as Chris Smalling diverted home and then Nani completed a fine passing move to level the scoreline. Nani sealed the victory in the dying moments as he charged clear.

"This shows who the best team is - all game we dominated," Rooney told BBC Radio 5 Liveafter United's 3-2 win. "The young lads made the difference - Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling - they were all outstanding.''

"I think this was a footballing lesson," he added later on Twitter.

United had to come from two goals down, but Rooney still believes they outplayed their rivals.

"They had five minutes where they scored two goals, and that was about it." Rooney said. "The score-line is deserved because of our passing, and the brilliant chances we created. We are champions and we are the team to beat - we need to go out and prove that.

"Full credit to the whole team, that's our attitude. We never know when a game is finished. We hope title number 20 will come. But it's a long season and there's a lot of good teams in the league. Our main aim is to win that title again."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reluctant to criticise goalkeeper De Gea following his performance.

Asked about Dzeko's goal, Ferguson said: "Well, it was bending a little bit ... it's difficult to say."

De Gea, when asked whether he was experiencing problems getting to grips with the English game, said: "No, football is football here and in any country. I have to adapt quickly and improve on the whole of my game.

"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."

Ferguson added: "I certainly thought our performance throughout was very good in terms of the football. I couldn't believe we were 2-0 down at half-time after it looked to me like we were controlling the game. But credit to the players, they kept their heads, played football and got the result we deserved."

Two-goal hero Nani told Sky Sports: "This is United, we all believe until the last minute and the attitude of the lads in the second half was that everyone believed we could score. It is good to play against Man City and win like that. I think our fans today will be so proud of us, it is a beautiful day to enjoy."