Follow Malouda

What does the Community Shield represent for you and your team-mates?

For me, it’s the first important game of the season, and it’s at Wembley.

It’s always special to play there because it’s a wonderful stadium. Plus, it’s also going to be against Manchester United, the champions, so it will be a big match in which we’ll be looking to start well.

We won the right to play in this competition by winning The FA Cup last May, a special achievement, and so this a good way to begin the new season. Of course, we want to win this competition and to do that we will have to play at our best.

You made your debut in the Shield two years ago and scored. What are your memories of that day?

It was a good moment for me because it was my first goal at Chelsea and in England, but unfortunately we lost on penalties. This time, I hope we win the trophy and make the best start to our season.

Would it be a psychological boost to beat United today?

It’s always good for confidence and it could be important for us to show the level we are playing at, and to show that we can compete with the champions from the start.

The full interview will be in the official Match Programme for the game, which can be ordered now by clicking here.