Derby goal tops United poll

Robin van Persie’s dramatic late winner in December’s Manchester derby has been voted Goal of the Month by fans on our official websites.

The Dutchman’s free-kick from outside the box sealed a 3-2 win over Man City and sparked joyous celebrations both on the field and in the away end at the Etihad Stadium.

The randomly-drawn winner of our competition, who will receive a home shirt signed by the Reds' top scorer, is James Leung from Hong Kong.

Van Persie’s effort, which took a slight deflection off Samir Nasri before sneaking into Joe Hart’s bottom-right corner, has possibly been favoured for its wider significance as much as its technical quality.

The goal picked up 40% of the votes on our seven language websites – English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish and Arabic. Another sweet strike by Van Persie – against West Brom – came second with 33%, with Tom Cleverley’s first-time curler against Sunderland completing the top three (15%).

The other goals nominated were: Anderson vs Reading, Wayne Rooney’s second vs Reading, Rooney’s second vs City, Van Persie vs Sunderland and James Wilson vs Southampton Under-18s.

More: Van Persie is hitting top gear | Van Persie thanks fans | Robin delighted by winner