You will not have found many Manchester United supporters that were disappointed to have seen the back of Nani (for this season at least) when his loan return to Sporting Lisbon was confirmed earlier this month.

The 27-year-old joined the club as a teenager back in 2007 for a reported £17m, but he has never gone on to truly fulfil his potential at Old Trafford, with persistent injuries and inconsistent form often making him a scapegoat for poor performances and results.

It wasn't always that way, though. His debut season with the Red Devils contained numerous exciting moments which had the United faithful dreaming of having the Portuguese winger down one flank and his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo on the other for years to come.

He may have scored three goals in pre-season and also helped United to win the Community Shield at the expense of Chelsea during his first summer in England, but it was his display against Tottenham Hotspur seven years ago today that made people really stand up and take notice of his talent.

Having held off early pressure from the North Londoners, a period in which Robbie Keane had struck the crossbar, hosting United dominated proceedings, although it appeared that their domination was going to go unrewarded.

Ryan Giggs and former Spurs midfielder Michael Carrick saw efforts just miss the target, while Carlos Tevez had his drilled shot from the edge of the area hacked off the line by a retreating Jermaine Jenas.

However, in the 68th minute, Nani's match-winning qualities rose to the surface. He inherited possession from Chris Eagles 30 yards from goal and before he was closed down by Anthony Gardner, he unleashed a swerving shot that flew past Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson before he could properly react. Replays showed that the ball may have taken the slightest deflection off Tevez, but Nani was credited with the goal.

Future United striker Dimitar Berbatov had Tottenham's best chance to score an equaliser in the closing stages, but after he had curled his effort wide of the target, United, who started the encounter second from bottom, were able to hold on to record their first victory of the season.

MAN UNITED: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Hargreaves, Carrick (Eagles), Scholes, Giggs; Tevez (Fletcher)

TOTTENHAM: Robinson; Chimbonda, Rocha (Zokora), Gardner, Lee (Taarabt); Malbranque, Jenas, Huddlestone, Bale; Berbatov, Keane (Defoe)