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 Sir 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. Shinji Kagawa was sending in a couple of balls for the likes of Wayne Rooney to work with, but nothing came of them.
Van Persie started the game from the substitutes bench, but Sir Alex decided to bring on his new star in the 68th minute as a replacement for Danny Welbeck, who was seemingly running out of ideas to break through a resolute Everton defense.
He did not waste any time in trying to make a mark on his new team. Within a minute of coming on he 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 La Liga, newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña sent out a strong message on their return to La Liga by beating last season's seventh placed club Osasuna by 2-0.
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