United pick up first points of the season against resolute Fulham

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Shinji Kagawa of Manchester United gestures during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on August 25, 2012 in Manchester, England.

The biggest surprise before the Fulham match was the decision to bench Wayne Rooney and to exclude Nani from the 18-man matchday squad completely. Given their performances at Everton in the Premier League curtain-raiser, hardly anyone could debate that selection, one which was to be vindicated by the end of the game. The pre-match focus was on Double Triple Olympic Champion Usain Bolt, who joked that he’s gonna ask Sir Alex to sign him next summer!

Sir Alex gave Van Persie his home debut, playing just ahead of fellow new signing Kagawa. Young came in for Nani and Carrick had to continue at centre half. The return of Rafael meant Valencia was back in his natural position. Despite some early passing, Fulham earned a foul on their first attack on the edge of the box. Bryan Ruiz took the free-kick and Damian Duff was at the end of it to slide the visitors into the lead inside three mins. United’s response to the goal didn’t take long. After some nice passing, Evra put in a hopeful low cross into the box which Van Persie pounced onto, scoring with a first time half-volley. A debut goal is always good for any player coming in after a big money move to ease some of the pressure. Van Persie got off to a fabulous start with a beautifully taken goal. Few strikers would’ve been capable of scoring a goal like that. Not just that, it was Van Persie’s first ever shot for United.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Robin van Persie of Manchester United competes with Mark Schwarzer of Fulham during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on August 25, 2012 in Manchester, England.

And what a stunning one it was.

United’s confidence after the equalizer soared and with it came some delightful passing moves, most notably involving Shinji Kagawa who was at the centre of every attacking move United created in the first half. Cleverley continued in midfield and played alongside Anderson in this game. Their partnership has been one that has been talked about a lot in terms of how much it benefits United’s dynamic style of play we saw at the beginning of last season. David De Gea was confident enough to pull of an extraordinary skill move that Messi would’ve been proud of when he cheekily back-flipped a back-pass from Rafael to fool Petric.

United had a new, and better corner kick taker in this game in Van Persie who not only has the ability to beat the first man, something we’ve failed to do in past couple of season on a lot of occasions, but also gets the ball in a dangerous area inside the box. His corner kick for the second goal was partly cleared and came straight into the path of Cleverley, who took a first time shot so reminiscent of how Scholesy used to hit them. His shot was parried by Schwarzer and Kagawa then had the easy task of converting the loose ball to score on his home debut as well. United were rampant now.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 25: Mousa Dembele of Fulham competes with Tom Cleverley of Manchester United during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on August 25, 2012 in Manchester, England.

Kagawa then went in search of another goal and came incredibly close to getting it, but he was denied by the post. The ball was still in play and, in the subsequent move, ended up in the back of the net via Rafael but was ruled out for offside although replays showed he was just in line with the last defender. It was not to bother the Brazilian, as he went on another move forward and was in the right place to head home an Ashley Young cross to put United 3-1 up before half-time. Fulham could’ve pulled one back before halftime though had it not been for De Gea, who pulled off fabulous back-to-back saves.

United made a decent start to the second half but that didn’t last long. Once Sir Alex subbed off Kagawa, Fulham pegged one back immediately after a mix-up in goal between De Gea and Vidic resultied in an own goal via Vidic’s heel. A nervy final 20 minutes were to follow for United. Dembele, who had a magnificent game throughout, let one fly from 30 yards out but it was palmed by De Gea. He was forced into another save from the Belgian, this time from close range, just few minutes later. Rooney, who came off the bench in the second half, was on the receiving end of a horrible challenge from Rodellega which didnt have any malicious intent. Dembele once again made a good run past a couple of United players in stoppage time and put in a good cross but the header from Ruiz was again saved by De Gea, who ended up saving the day for United once again.

At the end of the day, it was the three points that mattered for United and the hopeful returns of Evans and Jones next week at Southampton after they both started training last week.

Ratings: De Gea 7.5, Rafael 7, Carrick 6.5, Vidic 6.5, Evra 7, Valencia 6.5, Cleverley 7.5, Anderson 7, Young 6.5, Kagawa 8, Van Persie 7.