MANCHESTER // Robin van Persie revealed a sad postscript to his 17th goal of the English Premier League season for Manchester United.
Van Persie struck in the final minute to seal a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion before lifting his shirt to reveal the message: "RIP Tchuna we will never forget you".
It was confirmed the message related to a close friend of the Dutchman, who died on Friday night.
Not that it stopped the eulogies to a man Sir Alex Ferguson has already said represents the final piece of his jigsaw and who was required today to settle a few nerves after initially starting on the substitutes' bench.
"He is a fantastic player," said Ferguson. "He came on and changed the game for us.
"Every time the ball came up to him he got hold of it and turned on them. They were having to go back to their box all the time and he has done well."
Van Persie's superb curling effort kept United seven points clear of Manchester City and earned maximum points from a fixture that did not turn into the cruise they expected after Gareth McAuley's early own goal, which Ashley Young said he was going to try to claim despite his part clearly being a cross.
"Where there's a will," said Young, who scored in a similar manner when the two sides met at The Hawthorns last season.
West Brom have improved since then, as Ferguson acknowledged.
"They were a very resilient, stubborn team," said the United manager. "They worked really hard on their defending and closed all their ranks. You have to deal with that but the slowness of the pitch killed our speed a bit."
The former United goalkeeper Ben Foster kept his old club at bay in the first half, making a superb save to deny Young.
Not that the West Brom manager Steve Clarke was surprised at such heroics. "Ben Foster made some good saves," he said. "That's why we spent our whole transfer budget on Ben in the summer."
After a difficult first half the visitors came to life after the break, forcing United into a tactical changeand Van Persie's introduction.
"It is not demoralising," said Clarke of Van Persie being brought into the action. "The fact they had to bring some of their big guns off the bench shows how well we were doing. In the first we were too timid. We spoke at half time about being too respectful and in the end, the score line doesn't reflect the way we played."
Clarke rejected suggestions the pitch, which needed to survive an inspection for the game to go ahead, was too difficult.
"We used to play on pitches like that all the time," he said.
"It is part and parcel of the game. You don't look for games to be called off for no reason and there was no reason today."
United now move on to a trip to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday, with Ferguson hopeful of reinforcing his squad with a few fresh faces.
"It will be a hard game," said Ferguson. "But hopefully we can freshen up again. Possibly Phil Jones will be ready and Rafael will be ready.
"We rested Javier Hernandez today, and also Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, so we have enough freshness to bring in."
* Press Association
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Series result
1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets
4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets
5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5