Van Persie fires United to victory

Robin van Persie marked his first start for Manchester United with a sublime goal, but his side’s 3-2 victory over Fulham was marred by a nasty injury to Wayne Rooney on Saturday. van Persie had little chance to contribute during a brief substitute appearance in United’s lacklustre defeat at Everton on Monday, but the striker took just 10 minutes to make his mark at Old Trafford with a brilliant volley to cancel out Damien Duff’s opener. Inspired by the £24 million Dutch forward, United went on to secure their first win of the season, but the result was overshadowed by Rooney’s injury late in the second half which left the England striker, who was stretchered off, with blood streaming from a deep gash in his thigh after he was caught by Hugo Rodallega. Fulham had stunned United when Irish winger Duff, who retired from international this week, fired home from just inside the penalty area in the third minute. But that brought a scintilating response from van Persie, who levelled with a blistering volley from Patrice Evra’s cross. Like van Persie, former Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa was making his first appearance at Old Trafford and he marked the occasion with his maiden United goal, tapping in when Mark Schwarzer parried Tom Cleverley’s pass into his path. United defender Rafael da Silva added a third goal four minutes before half-time with a header from Ashley Young’s cross. Nemanja Vidic’s 64th minute own goal gave Fulham a glimmer of hope, but it was Rooney’s injury that proved the last noteworthy action. Everton, often hampered by slow starts to the season, maintained their 100 percent record with a 3-1 win over 10-man Aston Villa.