Robin van Persie crowned his full debut for Manchester United with a
stunning first goal for his new club in a nervy win against Fulham.
The Dutchman's strike came after Damien Duff had given
the visitors the lead, and it came in a scintillating first half as
Shinji Kagawa and Rafael added further goals.
David De Gea turned Mladen Petric's point-blank effort on to the bar but the United keeper then failed to reach a Fulham cross as Nemanja Vidic deflected into his own net.
And when it looked like United might throw
away their advantage, the Spaniard stopped Moussa Dembele's close-range
shot before the home side finally restored a measure of calm to the
game.
A late injury to substitute Wayne Rooney and defensive
worries aside, where Michael Carrick again had moments of alarm as a
stand-in centre-back, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were dominant for large
periods of the game and they could easily have scored more as Kagawa hit
a post and Rafael had a second goal disallowed.
The successful introduction of Van Persie in an alternative 4-2-3-1 system left United fans purring about his attacking threat and he may have to play without Rooney in coming games, after the England striker suffered a nasty gash to his thigh following his introduction as a second-half substitute.
That worrying finish to the game, when Rooney was caught by Hugo Rodallega, was in contrast to a buoyant beginning after six-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt was paraded to cheers of "Fergie, Fergie sign him up" before kick-off.
The party mood was punctured after three minutes, however, when Duff tucked in Bryan Ruiz's clever free-kick, although there were question marks about the hosts' marking.
The lull did not last long as the impressive Antonio Valencia probed down the right, and when Van Persie marked his full debut in stunning fashion there was a huge roar to blow away any thoughts of a spoiled occasion.
The Dutchman's goal came from the left when Patrice Evra crossed and Van Persie met it after one bounce with a superb strike into the opposite corner.
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