Man United lose opening game as Robin Van Persie makes his debut
August 21, 2012 -- Updated 0937 GMT (1737 HKT)
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.
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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.
Spurs to Hamburg: The Dutch international returns to the Bundesliga after a successful two-year spell at the north London club. Van der Vaart played for Hamburg from 2005 to 2008 before joining Spanish champions Real Madrid.
Manchester United to Fulham: With the arrival of Robin van Persie from Arsenal earlier this month, the chances of Dimitar Berbatov playing even more of a bit part at Old Trafford have only increased. Fulham have been the benefactors of Alex Ferguson's growing indifference to the player he signed for $47 million from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. The 31-year-old Bulgarian rejected suitors in Italy, notably Juventus and Fiorentina, to stay in the English Premier League.
Sao Paulo to Paris Saint-Germain
The $55 million paid by PSG for 19-year-old midfielder Lucas Moura broke the Brazilian transfer record for the third time this year, eclipsing the fee the French club spent on Thiago Silva and Chelsea's deal for Oscar. He will move to Paris in January, becoming the sixth Brazilian at the club.
AC Milan to Paris Saint-Germain
At $50.75 million, Thiago Silva is the world's most expensive defender in terms of upfront transfer fees -- though the largest including add-ons remains Rio Ferdinand's move from Leeds to Manchester United, which eventually rose to $150,000 more than the Brazilian's total). The 27-year-old spent three years in Italy with AC Milan and is an established international.
Athletic Bilbao to Bayern Munich
Spain midfielder Javi Martinez completed a "complicated" move to the Bundesliga giants after activating a $50 million buyout clause in his contract that left him having to foot some of the bill.
Tottenham to Real Madrid
Luka Modric completed his long-awaited switch from English club Tottenham Hotspur to Spanish champions Real Madrid for a reported $50 million. After attempting to force a transfer ahead of the 2011-12 season, the Croatian has finally got his move away from White Hart Lane.
Lille to Chelsea
Eyebrows may have been raised upon seeing the size of the $49.5 million transfer fee Chelsea paid for Eden Hazard, but the 21-year-old Belgium winger is one of Europe's biggest talents, having being selected for the Ligue 1 Team of the Year three times in a row.
Internacional to Chelsea
After a protracted saga of a transfer, Chelsea finally gave in to Internacional president Giovanni Luigi's demands and paid a Brazilian transfer record $39.25 million for 20-year-old midfielder Oscar. Only time will tell if the talented young playmaker is worth the money, but with so many creative options at Roberto di Matteo's disposal he may well have to make an immediate impact or risk spending a season on the bench.
Arsenal to Manchester United
Robin van Persie, the English Premier League's top scorer last season, stunned Arsenal fans by joining rivals United for $37 million after refusing to sign a new contract.
Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain
Argentina international forward Ezequiel Lavezzi arrives at PSG with a $36.25 million price tag and a big reputation following his five years in Italy. He will link up with another former Serie A star in Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United
Those who cynically write off $26.25 million signing Shinji Kagawa as nothing more than a ploy to boost United shirt sales in Asia do so at their own peril -- the 23-year-old is a top-level player with excellent credentials: two Bundesliga titles, one German Cup, an Asian Cup and more than 30 appearances for Japan.
Everton to Manchester City
Young England international Jack Rodwell was Roberto Mancini's first signing since winning Manchester City's first English league title in 43 years. At $24 million he is far from the most expensive player at the Etihad Stadium, but the highly-rated 21-year-old midfielder is seen as a long-term investment.
AC Milan to Paris Saint-Germain
Until last season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had won the league eight years in a row with five different clubs. The Sweden striker's $24 million move to PSG pushed him further ahead of Nicolas Anelka as the most expensive player of all time, with total transfers of more than $210 million.
Arsenal to Barcelona
For the second year in a row, a key Arsenal player has been lured to Spain by Barcelona. Last August it was Cesc Fabregas, this time it's Cameroon midfielder Alex Song. The 25-year-old moved for $23.7 million on a five-year contract, with a release clause of $100 million.
Malaga to Arsenal
Spain star Santi Cazorla was one of Malaga's marquee signings last season, but is the first of the troubled Spanish club's high-profile players to depart in the midst of financial problems. The winger's $23.5 million fee is similar what he cost when joining from Villarreal.
Borussia Monchengladbach to Borussia Dortmund
Finishing fourth in both goals scored and assists last season, Marco Reus almost single-handedly pushed Borussia Monchengladbach to a fourth-place finish in Germany and Champions League football. Champions Dortmund see the 23-year-old, who cost $21 million, as the ideal replacement for Shinji Kagawa -- and if his brief appearances at Euro 2012 are anything to go by he could become much more.
FC Twente to Borussia Monchengladbach
After much interest from all corners of Europe, FC Twente's top-scoring target man Luuk de Jong decided to join Borussia Monchengladbach in an $18. 5 million deal. The 21-year-old, who scored 25 goals in 32 appearances last season, went to Euro 2012 but did not appear for the Netherlands.
Montpellier to Arsenal
With the eyes of the English Premier League's fans firmly set on the Robin Van Persie transfer saga, many have neglected the man coming in to replace him -- $18.5 million France international Olivier Giroud. For all the money PSG spent last season, it was Giroud and his 21 goals which spurred underdogs Montpellier to a first Ligue 1 title.
Valencia to Barcelona
New Barca boss Tito Villanova acted quickly to fill the gap left since Eric Abidal's liver transplant, bringing in Spain's Euro 2012 surprise standout player Jordi Alba for a bargain $17 million to fill the left-back slot before the tournament had even finished.
AS Roma to Liverpool
New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers paid $17 million for 21-year-old striker Fabio Borini, whose nine goals in 24 appearances at Roma earned him selection for Italy's Euro 2012 squad. He returns to Britain following an earlier loan spell with Rodgers' former club Swansea.
FC Cologne to Arsenal
Lukas Podolski has left his childhood club Cologne for the second time, having struggled to make an impression at Bayern Munich following his 2006 transfer. The Germany star cost Arsenal $15.75 million after scoring 18 Bundesliga goals last season -- which was not enough for "the Billy Goats" to avoid relegation.
Vfl Wolfsburg to Bayern Munich
A surprise star of Euro 2012, Mario Mandzukic scored three times in three games for Croatia to be the tournament's equal top scorer. Bayern paid Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg $15.75 million for the 26-year-old striker's services.
Ajax to Tottenham Hotspur
Belgium international Jan Vertonghen is already being touted by Tottenham fans as the long-term replacement for injury-plagued former captain Ledley King in the center of defense. His protracted $11.5 million transfer could prove key to the fortunes of new Spurs boss Andre-Villas Boas.
Marseille to Chelsea
Chelsea took its spending in the current transfer window to over $100m with the signing of Spanish full back Cesar Azpilicueta from French team Marseille.
Werder Bremen to Chelsea
Germany midfielder Marko Marin agreed his $9.5 million move to Chelsea before last season had even finished, and the 23-year-old is expected to make a big impact for the European champions with the skills that have seen him dubbed "the German Messi."
AC Milan to Internazionale
Antonio Cassano has left AC Milan to join city rivals Inter, while fellow Italy striker Giampaolo Pazzini went in the other direction. Milan had to pay a reported $8.7 million extra for Pazzini, who at 28 is two years younger than his former Sampdoria teammate. Cassano, meanwhile, recovered from heart surgery to help Italy reach the final of Euro 2012.
Internazionale to Internacional
Diego Forlan struggled to impress in his one season in Italy after seven prolific years in Spain's top flight, but the 33-year-old Uruguay striker could prove to be a free-transfer bargain in Brazil for Internacional. He was named best player at the 2010 World Cup, where he was joint top scorer, and has led the goal charts twice in Europe.
Fiorentina to AC Milan
Midfielder Riccardo Montolivo agreed to join Milan on a free transfer before helping Italy reach the final of Euro 2012, having spent seven years at Fiorentina.
Real Madrid to Liverpool
Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin failed to impress in in his one season at Real Madrid after being snapped up from German champions Borussia Dortmund, and has been given the chance to kickstart his career in the English Premier League.
Maicon -- undisclosed fee
Rafael van der Vaart -- $16 million
Dimitar Berbatov -- undisclosed fee
Lucas Moura - $55M
Thiago Silva - $50.75M
Javi Martinez - $50M
Luka Modric - $50M
Eden Hazard - $49.5M
Oscar - $39.25M
Robin van Persie - $37.5M
Ezequiel Lavezzi - $36.25M
Shinji Kagawa - $26.25M
Jack Rodwell - $24M
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - $24M
Alex Song - $23.7M
Santi Cazorla - $23.5M
Marco Reus - $21M
Luuk de Jong - $18.5M
Olivier Giroud - $18.5M
Jordi Alba - $17M
Fabio Borini - $17M
Lukas Podolski - $15.75M
Mario Mandzukic - $15.75m
Jan Vertonghen - $11.5M
Cesar Azpilicueta - $11m
Marko Marin - $9.5M
Cassano/Pazzini - Swap
Diego Forlan - Free transfer
Riccardo Montolivo - Free transfer
Nurhi Sahin - Season loan
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Top European football transfers
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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