Luke Shaw collected his first-ever winner's medal on Sunday and reckons Manchester United's Community Shield win over Leicester can help them hit the ground running this season.
A late header from debutant Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed a 2-1 victory for Jose Mourinho's side at Wembley, who look set to be strengthened further by the signing of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
Jesse Lingard gave United the lead, following on from his FA Cup-winning goal against Crystal Palace with a solo effort at the end of a jinking run.
Reigning Premier League champions Leicester equalised through Jamie Vardy as he capitalised on a soft Marouane Fellaini back-pass but it was left to Ibrahimovic to mark his first appearance with the winner.
Shaw, who suffered a double leg break against PSV Eindhoven in September, played 69 minutes at Wembley before being replaced by Marcos Rojo.
The England left-back believes lifting the Community Shield can only be a good thing ahead of the new Premier League season and was full of praise for fellow defender Eric Bailly, who was also making his debut against the Foxes.
"I'm really happy because it's my first trophy. I'm really happy for the team as well, this can kick-start our season," the 21-year-old told MUTV.
"I'd have said he (Bailly) was man of the match. He's really good, he's composed on the ball, he doesn't tend to rush and he was strong at the back.
"Nothing got past him and I'm really looking forward to seeing the player that he's going to become."
Mourinho collected some early silverware but did have to contend with an unhappy Juan Mata.
The Spaniard, introduced for injured goalscorer Lingard just after the hour mark, was hauled off in stoppage time and appeared to exchange words with his former Chelsea boss on the touchline.
Mourinho explained afterwards that he had felt compelled to withdraw the diminutive Mata, with Leicester set to pepper the United box with long balls in the search for an equaliser.
Although clearly disgruntled by the decision, Mata, who scored United's equaliser in May's FA Cup final, posted a tweet on Sunday night which suggested he was feeling better.
"This one, as every trophy, is for you! Thanks once again for your amazing support! #CommunityShield ," he wrote.
Champions Leicester were not outplayed in the game and looked sharp in the second half following the introduction of club-record signing Ahmed Musa at the interval.
Claudio Ranieri's side could have led in the first half but Shinji Okazaki's header came back off the crossbar.
Vardy opened his account for the season with the equaliser and, although they were ultimately defeated, Foxes skipper Wes Morgan was pleased with the showing and thinks it will hold them in good stead for the opening match of their title defence against newly-promoted Hull on Saturday.
"They didn't have too many chances, but they were clinical when they got them, so that's the difference," he told the club's official website.
"We want to make sure we're right for the beginning of the season and we found that this game was good preparation.
"The result didn't go our way but I think we can be proud of the performance. We battled well, we looked sharp at times and on another day, it could have gone our way.
"The result is disappointing, but we need to be proud of the actual performance."
Source: PA-WIRE
