United beat Chelsea 3-1 in Community Shield, with Berbatov scoring a delightful chip to seal the match, but have since watched on as the Blues opened their domestic campaign with a thoroughly emphatic 6-0 win against West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge.

“It’s always good to beat a top team like Chelsea,” the Bulgarian said to United Review.

“They are likely to be our main rivals for the title and the victory definitely gave everyone – the players, the staff and the fans a big lift. It was a tough match, but we deserved to win.

“It will count for nothing, though, if we don’t start the league season with a win against Newcastle on Monday."

"We know it’s going to be a difficult game and even though a few of the players were away last week with their national teams, we have prepared well and we’ve been training hard every day to make sure we start the season with three points.”

Monday's meeting will see Berbatov face up against his former coach at Tottenham, Chris Hughton, who is now manager of the Tyneside club, and the United striker spoke highly of the Magpies' boss.

“I worked with their manager Chris Hughton at Tottenham, and he’s a great guy and a great coach. I wish him good luck for the season just not on Monday!”


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