Daley Blind backed Memphis Depay to shine but insisted the £25 million (Dh143.7m) man needs time to adjust at Manchester United.
The forward failed to impress in United’s 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Friday as Louis van Gaal’s side secured successive opening wins.
Depay should have scored in the second half but shot wide with only Brad Guzan to beat as United relied on Adnan Januzaj’s winner.
But Blind, who partnered Chris Smalling in defence at Villa Park, reckons his Dutch compatriot Depay will come good following his summer move from PSV Eindhoven.
“I think it’s a matter of time for Memphis. You’ve seen how much quality he has and how strong he is,” he told MUTV.
“We can see some nice things from him.
“He’s just got to keep going, he tries very hard and the goals will come for sure.”
United followed last week's 1-0 win over Tottenham with a comfortable victory at Villa Park which extended their unbeaten Premier League record at the stadium to 20 years.
Van Gaal’s side were rarely troubled and Blind insisted their team ethos is paying off.
He said: “It was something we talked about, starting afresh for the away games, but it’s a good start. Last year, we gave some things away in the games, but now you’ve seen how strong we are at the end. We kept a clean sheet and fought for everything.
“I think again it was a real team performance, especially off the ball. We created some chances and we could have scored more, but we didn’t give anything away and won 1-0. Three points are the most important thing.”
Villa never tested United goalkeeper Sergio Romero, who again replaced David de Gea, even when new striker Rudy Gestede made his home debut as a substitute.
Coach Tim Sherwood is easing in Gestede, a summer buy from Blackburn Rovers, after an interrupted pre-season but he warned his side should not forget their strengths.
“When he came on, we got a bit obsessed about lumping the ball up to him,” Sherwood said.
“They obviously took their back-line back and there was a lot of space in front of them and that’s when we need to recognise that we can pass the ball.”
Winger Scott Sinclair added to AVTV: “I think where we kept the ball we created a little bit but there were other times where we had our backs against the wall and had to defend. It’s disappointing losing and not getting any points.”
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
Specs
Engine: 3.0L twin-turbo V6
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 405hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 562Nm at 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.2L/100km
Price: From Dh292,845 (Reserve); from Dh320,145 (Presidential)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
