 Thematch programme cover | |||||||
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| Date | 12 August 2012 | ||||||
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| Venue | Villa Park,Birmingham | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Yaya Touré (Manchester City) | ||||||
| Referee | Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)[1] | ||||||
| Attendance | 36,394 | ||||||
| Weather | Rain showers 19 °C (66 °F)[2] | ||||||
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The2012 FA Community Shield (also known asThe FA Community Shield sponsored byMcDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 90thFA Community Shield, afootball match played on 12 August 2012 between the winners of the previous season'sPremier League andFA Cup competitions. The match was contested by the2012 FA Cup winners,Chelsea, and the champions of the2011–12 Premier League,Manchester City.
The 2012 Community Shield was not played at its usual venue,Wembley Stadium, as the stadium hosted the final of the2012 Olympic football tournament on the same weekend as the proposed date for the Community Shield.[3] It was played instead atAston Villa's home ground,Villa Park, inBirmingham. It was the first time since the fixture was played atMaine Road in1973 that the Community Shield had been hosted at a venue other than Wembley (old and new) or theMillennium Stadium. Manchester City won the game 3–2 to claim their first Community Shield since1972.[4][5][6]
The 2012 Community Shield was broadcast live in the United Kingdom onITV1.[7] Traditionally, the Community Shield has started at 15:00BST, but the match was due to be played on the final day of the2012 Olympics, and therefore started at 13:30 BST.[8]
Chelsea qualified by winning the 2012 FA Cup Final, beatingLiverpool 2–1 in the final at Wembley. Chelsea beatPortsmouth 4–0,Queens Park Rangers 1–0,Birmingham City 2–0,Leicester City 5–2 andTottenham Hotspur 5–1 en route to the final. The 2012 victory was Chelsea's seventh FA Cup triumph and consequently gained a berth in the 2012 Community Shield. The 2012 Community Shield will be Chelsea's tenth appearance in the fixture.
Manchester City qualified for their second consecutive Community Shield by clinching the Premier League title in the final minutes of the season. City made a strong start to the league season, beating rivals Manchester United 6–1 at Old Trafford in October and maintained the lead in the league for the majority of the season. However, a drop in form in March and April meant they fell eight points behind leaders Manchester United who would later drop points to Wigan Athletic and Everton. City won the last six league matches of the season, including a crucial 1–0 victory over United at the Etihad Stadium on 30 April which put City top of the league with a superiorgoal difference. City needed to now win the final two matches to win the league, irrespective of what United did. They beat Newcastle at St James Park, meaning victory against Queens Park Rangers would seal the title for City. Although taking an early lead, QPR scored twice in the 48th and 66th minute. It looked as if City had blown their chance to win the league with United winning 1–0 at Sunderland. However, two stoppage time goals – one fromEdin Džeko and a last-minute goal fromSergio Agüero – completed a remarkable comeback to give City a 3–2 win.[citation needed] The league being decided on goal difference was the closest finish since Arsenal and Liverpool in 1989 and ensured Manchester City won their first top-flight league title since 1968. The 2012 Community Shield was Manchester City's ninth appearance in the fixture.
In order to avoid clashing with the Olympics,The Football Association (FA) agreed that the Community Shield would not be played in London, igniting speculation that the Community Shield would follow suit with theSupercoppa Italiana andTrophée des Champions and be played overseas. Despite the financial incentive, the FA announced that Community Shield would be held in England.
In previous years when Wembley was unavailable, theMillennium Stadium inCardiff was used to host major events; this was not viable in 2012 as it was also being used as a venue for Olympic football matches. Venues that were also considered included the Olympic venues ofSt James' Park inNewcastle andOld Trafford inManchester, as well as theStadium of Light inSunderland, theEtihad Stadium in Manchester,Anfield inLiverpool andVilla Park inBirmingham.[9]
On 1 August 2011, however, it was announced that Villa Park was the interim choice to host the Shield, as the other, larger venues would "still be in Olympic mode".[10] This decision was confirmed on 18 May 2012 after the football season had concluded and it became clear Villa Park would be an ideal neutral venue halfway between the two competing clubs fromLondon andManchester.[11]
The match officials for the game were confirmed on 3 July 2012.Kevin Friend ofLeicestershire was named asreferee, having previously been thefourth official at both the2011 League Cup Final and the2011 Community Shield, and refereed the 2009 FA Vase Final. Friend was assisted by Michael McDonough ofNorthumberland and Richard West from theEast Riding of Yorkshire, while the fourth official wasAnthony Taylor ofCheshire, and Charles Breakspear (Surrey) was the reserve assistant referee.[1]
          Chelsea[12] |   Manchester City[13] |
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Man of the matchYaya Touré (Manchester City) Assistant referees: | Match rules
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| Chelsea | Manchester City | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 9 | 13 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 9 |
| Ball possession | 46% | 54% |
| Corner kicks | 5 | 9 |
| Fouls committed | 14 | 14 |
| Offsides | 0 | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 3 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
Source: ITV Sport[14]
