( CNN ) -- Manchester United fought back from two-goals down to defeat rivals Manchester City 3-2 in a thrilling Community Shield at Wembley , the traditional opener to the English Premier League . Champions United and FA Cup winners City are expected to be challenging for the title come next May -- and both teams showed exceptional quality in an end-to-end encounter that thrilled the 77,000 crowd . City had beaten their neighbors 1-0 when they last faced each other at Wembley , in April 's FA Cup semifinal , and Roberto Mancini 's big-spenders looked to be heading towards a similar result with two goals in the space of seven first-half minutes . The opener came in the 38th minute when David Silva curled in a delightful free-kick from the right and defender Joleon Lescott rose above the United defence to head past debutant goalkeeper David De Gea . And , on the stroke of half-time , City extended their advantage when Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko picked up the ball just inside the United half and was allowed to run unchallenged before firing a low 25-year shot that swerved away from De Gea . But United manager Alex Ferguson made five changes for the second half and the result was that his team dominated the second 45 minutes . Defender Chris Smalling reduced the deficit in the 52nd minute when side-footing home an Ashley Young free-kick . And United drew level six minutes later with a stunning one-touch move that involved Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley that resulted in Nani flicking the ball over England goalkeeper Joe Hart . Then , with the match heading towards a penalty shoot-out , United snatched victory with virtually the final kick . A City attack , which ended with Dzeko missing a close-range header , resulted in United clearing the ball out of defence . But , with seemingly no danger , City defenders Gael Clichy and Vincent Kompany displayed indecision , allowing Nani to rob the ball from Kompany 's feet . The Portuguese winger then ran unchallenged towards City 's goal , before rounding Hart and sliding the ball into an empty net to secure United a dramatic last- gasp victory . The result will give United a major boost ahead of next weekend 's opening round of fixtures -- will the last four Community Shield winners all going on to lift the Premier League title .
Manchester United beat Manchester City 3 - 1 in Community Stadium at Wembley . City took a 2 - 0 first - half lead before United fought back with three second half goals . Nani scores United 's winner in the final minute after a late defensive mistake .