Van Persie has immediately adapted to his new surroundings and although he
scored a wonderful goal and glided around with menace, he admits he is still
short of fitness.
Kagawa impressed in a central three in the 1-0 defeat at Everton but, pushed
further forward, the Japan international was even more potent and gave
credence to Ferguson’s claim that the midfielder can provide a goal-scoring
edge that has been absent from the central area since Paul Scholes was in
his prime.
“He’s brilliant. He has settled in really well. He links defence with attack.
He gets on the half turn and creates chances. I can’t speak highly enough of
him,” Cleverley said. “I love playing with him – one and two touch,
high-energy football. We’re on the same wavelength.”
Kagawa, who scored a tap-in to mark his home debut after joining from Dortmund
for £17 million in the summer, has promised he will contribute even more if
he is given the ball in the right areas.
“I want to improve parts of my game. I think the combination play with the
other players will improve match by match,” he said.
“I want my team-mates to have the confidence to play it up to me when I‘m
ahead of them. That is one of my strengths and style. I want to be on the
ball more. I want to be busier.”
While Wayne Rooney’s omission from the starting line-up took much of the
focus, it was also significant that Nani, who started at Goodison Park, was
not even included in the squad.
United had an early scare when Damien Duff fired Fulham ahead after two
minutes but Van Persie clipped in a lovely equaliser with his first shot
since his £22 million move from Arsenal before Kagawa scored a second from a
couple of yards and Rafael headed in a third.
David De Gea flapped at a Matthew Briggs cross leading to a Nemanja Vidic own
goal and a tense finish but Ferguson will expect to see those errors
eradicated once he has more defenders back.
Fulham manager Martin Jol will attempt to ease tensions with Clint Dempsey,
who is training on his own after the club reported Liverpool
to the Premier League over an illegal approach, should the American forward
remain at the club beyond Friday’s deadline.
August 27th, 2012 → 5:41 am @ carbon
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