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Man United lose opening game as Robin Van Persie makes his debut

updated 5:37 AM EDT, Tue August 21, 2012
Robin Van Persie makes his debut as Manchester United lose 1-0 to Everton in their opening English Premier League game
Robin Van Persie makes his debut as Manchester United lose 1-0 to Everton in their opening English Premier League game
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Everton shock title hopefuls by beating Alex Ferguson's side 1-0 in their opening game
  • Robin Van Persie started on substitutes' bench after his transfer from Arsenal
  • Newly promoted Deportivo start their La Liga campaign with a shock 2-0 win over Osasuna
  • Bayern Munich breeze through their first round DFB Cup tie with Jahn Regensburg

(CNN) -- Robin Van Persie played in a Manchester United shirt for the first time, but he could not stop his new club falling to an opening day defeat at Everton.

Marouane Fellaini powered home a near-post header in the 57th minute to ensure a 1-0 victory for the Merseyside team and an early blow for Alex Ferguson's desire to wrestle back the English Premier League trophy from neighbors Manchester City.

And Everton's victory was no piece of luck. It was carved out by a gritty, determined side who tried for every opportunity and won plaudits after the game for defending the lead.

Fellaini had nearly opened the scoring just seven minutes before, when he fired wide. But the second time there was no doubt and he found a gap through the defenders to get it into the center of the net.

Whilst Everton seemed to be tiring, they still held their own when Manchester United attacks came. New signing Shinji Kagawa was sending in a couple of balls for the likes of Wayne Rooney to work with, but nothing came of them.

Manchester United goes public
La Liga 2012 preview
From Inter Milan to Manchester City: The reigning English Premier League champions have snapped up right-back Maicon for an undisclosed fee to help boost their bid for domestic and European honors in 2013. The Brazilian international has been at the San Siro for the past six seasons and made 235 appearances for the club. From Inter Milan to Manchester City: The reigning English Premier League champions have snapped up right-back Maicon for an undisclosed fee to help boost their bid for domestic and European honors in 2013. The Brazilian international has been at the San Siro for the past six seasons and made 235 appearances for the club.
Maicon -- undisclosed fee
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Van Persie started the game from the substitutes' bench, but Ferguson decided to bring on his new striker in the 68th minute as a replacement for Danny Welbeck, who was seemingly running out of ideas to break through a resolute Everton defense.

The former Arsenal player did not waste any time in trying to make a mark on his new team. Within a minute of coming on, last season's EPL top scorer whipped in a corner kick which required an alert Everton back line to sweep clear.

But after that, Everton sat back and frustrated Manchester United's attempts to try and get chances to the new signing. And the Goodison Park crowd were happy to see them do it .

The English Premier League was not the only league to see a shock result on Monday. In Spain, newly-promoted Deportivo La Coruna sent out a strong message on their return to La Liga by beating last season's seventh-placed club Osasuna 2-0.

Two loan players ensured the victory against Los Rojillos. Colombian midfielder Abel Aguilar, who normally plays for Hercules, struck in the 53rd minute of the game and the second came two minutes into time added on from Portugal striker Nelson Oliveira, who is on loan from Benfica.

Rayo Vallecano left it late before beating Granada 1-0, with midfielder Roberto Trashorras scoring five minutes into added time.

In Germany, Bayern Munich made light work of their DFB Cup first round opponents, beating SSV Jahn Regensburg 4-0 in a Bavarian derby.

The side, who were recently promoted to the second tier of German football, managed to hold out for 32 minutes before Bayern broke the deadlock through new signing Mario Mandzukic.

Young prospect Xherdan Shaqiri replaced Franck Ribery just after halftime and scored the second a quarter of an hour after the restart.

Bayern then hit Regensburg with the final two goals 10 minutes before time when Croatia striker Mandzukic got his second and the man who replaced him, veteran Peru international Claudio Pizarro, scored number four in the 88th minute to mark the start of his second spell in Munich.

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