Superb or Sloppy?: Manchester United 3 Fulham 2

Robin van Persie celebrating with his teammates after he sinks in a cracking equalizer at Old Trafford

Image retrieved from BBC Sport

Goals of the Game

Manchester United: van Persie (10'), Kagawa (34'), Rafael (40')

Fulham: Duff (3'), Vidic (63' OG)

A fog of uncertainty filled Old Trafford in the Reds' first home game of the season against visiting team Fulham. The 3-2 scoreline reveals only the fraction of the anxiety and nerves the fans had felt as they watched their team face Martin Jol's side.

It was a morale-flattening start for the Red Devils, who, under three minutes, conceded a goal against visitors Fulham from a set piece. A lack of commitment from the defensive line allowed Damien Duff to ease in a goal and bring Martin Jol’s side to a very early 1-0 lead. But it was all Manchester United after that as they rallied with authority.

The first goal came seven minutes later when new signing Robin van Persie introduced himself to the Trafford faithful. A cracking goal from an Evra cross, in a rather difficult angle too, equalized the scores. Kagawa would soon follow, capitalizing on some of the confusion playing on the mind of Fulham’s keeper, Mark Schwarzer. And then, five minutes before half-time, Rafael, a five-foot-six, low-profile right-back, sneaks through the Fulham line and heads in the goal from a cross by Ashley Young.

New signing van Persie sinks in the equalizer in the 10th minute

Video retrieved from YouTube. Uploaded by TheNiGhtKiLLerZ

The Manchester United fans had a bit of a scare just before half-time came when Dembele, Bryan Ruiz and Petric made a barrage of shots on goal, all just saved by David de Gea, with one shot luckily bouncing off the crossbar.

When half-time came, the early conceded goal was all but forgotten, with the Reds leading comfortably 3-1. Surely, the game was over at this point, or was it?

Second-half provided to be a testy 45 minutes for United. Another Belgian was slowly but surely destroying their defense, this time in the person of Moussa Dembele. Fulham had a lot of chances to get the goals in, which they did, in a rather unusual way. Matthew Briggs made a good run and sent a cross in to striker Petric, who was ominously waiting just in front of De Gea. The Spanish keeper punched the ball out of the way, only to hit the trailing legs of captain Vidic, who was also running in to block the potential attack of Petric. And so, just a few minutes past the hour mark, Fulham was back in the game, thanks to Vidic's own goal.

Confusion between De Gea and Vidic lead to an own goal, benefiting Fulham.
Video retrieved from YouTube. Uploaded by TheNiGhtKiLLerZ

A series of subs would soon follow for the Reds, who took out Kagawa, Young and Anderson, for Rooney, Welbeck and Giggs, respectively. Despite the sudden influx of forwards, United would only get more nerves, as the Belgian Dembele tore through the United lines and gave his team chances again and again. The anxiety would culminate into stoppage time, when Rooney gets a nasty gash on his leg, courtesy of a falling foot by Hugo Rodallega. Rooney challenges Rodallega's free kick a bit too late, and was left on the ground when Rodallega's foot came back on the ground.

United had certainly reacted positively after their loss at Goodison Park earlier in the week. We see a much improved performance for the whole team now, apart from De Gea, who seemed to have devolved back into his start last season. Sloppy hands were back for the Spaniard, something the fans weren't too happy about.

Kagawa was the playmaker yet again, pulling out a lot of superb passes and creating a lot of chances for his teammates. Of course, his substitution can only be a disappointment for the fans. Carrick also upped his game, correcting the mistakes he made in the Everton fixture. Lastly, Rafael was doing more than his job, which could be a liability in some times, but he had the knack of being in the right place at the right time. He made three efforts on goal, sinking in two, but got one of them disallowed. That kind of statistic certainly isn't bad for a defender.

In the end, United would get their three points, but it was definitely not without the coldest of sweats.