Cluj 1 Manchester United 2: It's Robin reliable to the rescue for Fergie's men

When Manchester United prised Robin van Persie away from Arsenal in the summer, some questioned whether the Dutchman was capable of producing another  phenomenal season like the last one.
Thirty-seven goals is a hard act to follow but after seven in eight games, the striker certainly looks like £22million well spent.
The two goals he scored in Romania, one rather fortuitously off his shoulder, the other brilliantly off the outside of his left foot,  dug United out of a hole. Cluj — from the Transylvanian town that gave us the Cheeky Girls — had taken an early lead.

Predator: Robin van Persie clips Manchester United's second goal past Cluj keeper Mario Felgueiras

Rocking Robin: Van Persie (top) celebrates with Wayne Rooney (right) after scoring his second goal

MATCH FACTS

CFR Cluj-Napoca: Mario Felgueiras, Sepsi, Cadu, Rada, Ivo Pinto, Sougou (Luis Alberto 23), Aguirregaray (Nicoara 80), Muresan, Camora, Bastos, Kapetanos (Bjelanovic 61).
Subs: Stancioiu, Diogo Valente, Maftei, Piccolo.
Goals: Kapetanos 14
Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans (Wootton 79), Evra, Cleverley, Anderson, Fletcher, Rooney, Hernandez (Welbeck 83), Van Persie.
Subs: Lindegaard, Nani, Powell, Kagawa, Buttner.
Goals: Van Persie 29, 49
Booked: Ferdinand
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Attendance: 24,000

If another poor start brought on by shoddy defending was enough to make Sir Alex Ferguson see red, the United boss would have been delighted with what he saw at the other end of the field. On the night Van Persie and Wayne Rooney started together for the first time, it was the England striker who provided the assist for both goals.
It was not an entirely comfortable night, with David de Gea called on to make two outstanding saves to preserve the slender advantage.
But victory in difficult surroundings leaves United with maximum points from their first two Champions League games and in control of Group H ahead of Braga’s visit to Old Trafford later this month.
The three-sided Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium, with a crude metal fence filling the empty space behind the goal United attacked in the first half,  was a reminder that the Romanian champions are hardly a powerhouse of European football.
But Ferguson’s line-up showed how seriously he viewed his opponents. It had taken six weeks for United fans to see their two top strikers lining up together at the start of a game due to the thigh laceration that kept Rooney out for four games.

Lucky break: Van Persie rises unmarked to level the match via a deflection off his shoulder

Javier Hernandez was a slightly surprising inclusion as the third attacker, while the absence of Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs saw Darren Fletcher continue his comeback with a first Champions League start for 10 months.
The Cluj fans unveiled a huge Transylvania flag proclaiming ‘This is where we live, this is where we belong’ as the game began and their team started confidently.
Ferguson had suggested on television moments before kick-off that another sluggish start — United have fallen behind in six of their nine games this season —would be ‘a disaster’. But his players had clearly not heeded the warning as Cluj went ahead in the 14th minute.

Inquest: David de Gea (right) and Rio Ferdinand (centre) react after Pantelis Kapetanos (left) strikes

Danger man Rafael Bastos started it off with a wonderful  30-yard pass that picked out Modou Sougou galloping down the right. Again United’s defensive deficiencies were largely to blame, just as they had been when Tottenham scored three at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Patrice Evra did not do nearly enough to stop Sougou as the winger flew past him and crossed into the middle, where Jonny Evans had allowed Pantelis Kapetanos far too much space.
The Greek striker took advantage, swivelling to drill the ball inside the United goalkeeper’s right-hand post.

False dawn: Cluj ace Kapetanos (centre) leads the celebrations after his early goal

Thankfully for Evra, Sougou went off shortly afterwards following a clash with Cleverley. The Senegal winger’s early departure curbed Cluj’s attacking threat down the right and United found a way through in the 29th minute.
Van Persie has already rescued United on more than one occasion in his short time at the club. His opening goal last night may not have been a classic but it was  certainly important.
Cluj captain Cadu’s foul on  Hernandez gave Rooney a chance to swing in a free kick from the right and it connected with Van Persie’s shoulder before looping over goalkeeper Mario Felgueiras and in off the underside of the bar.

Ouch: United midfielder Tom Cleverley (right) feels the full force of Cluj defender Ivo Pinto (left)

Van Persie should have added a second six minutes later when Hernandez’s clever pass put him clear on the edge of the six-yard box, but his fierce, left-foot drive was blocked by the keeper’s legs as he rushed out to narrow the angle.
Ferguson’s quickened stride as he headed across the pitch to the dressing room at half time  suggested he was less than impressed by what he had seen. He emerged 15 minutes later to describe his team’s defending as ‘absolutely shocking’.
He will have been much happier with what he witnessed four minutes later, when Van Persie struck again to put United ahead.

Marked man: Wayne Rooney attempts to hit a pass with Matias Aguirregaray in close attendance

It's good to be back: United midfielder Darren Fletcher continued his comeback in Romania

He played the ball to Rooney and then timed his run just right to beat the offside trap and race on to his teammate’s floated pass. The option was there to try and bring the ball down. But with Felgueiras racing out of his goal again, Van Persie decided to take it first time with a delicate touch off the outside of his left boot.
It was a wonderful finish, sending the ball rolling past the keeper and into the bottom corner.
Cluj’s response was instant. Cadu met Bastos’ corner with a  thumping header but De Gea  produced a fantastic, fingertip save. United needed another crucial intervention by De Gea in injury-time, when he sprang to his left to turn a header from Bastos around the post.
It will do the Spaniard’s  confidence the power of good. Where Van Persie is concerned, however, confidence is never likely to be a problem.

Job done: Van Persie and Rooney celebrates United's Champions League victory in Romania