Manchester United 3-0 Stoke

The story of the Barclays Premier League season so far suggested it may just be the case. Memories of Stoke’s 2-0 win over Louis van Gaal’s pitiful Manchester United on Boxing Day bolstered the rather persistent thought. Here, though, on a night when United really needed it, Van Gaal’s team dismissed the notion comprehensively. This was not the rebirth of United but at least the corpse twitched.

United, at last, played some terrific football. They scored three memorable goals and, for one night at least, allowed their supporters to forget how wretched this season has been. On the Stretford End, the home support added their own contribution to the football story of the week. ‘You can stick your Guardiola up your a**e’ they sang in reference to news of managerial change from across town.

United, though, needed something tangible on the field to make them feel better.What they needed was a performance like this.

It was how it used to be in this fixture. Stoke supine, United dominant. The game will have cost Stoke manager Mark Hughes his sleep, that’s for sure. His team were very poor. United, though, found a little of their true selves and were helped hugely by the early goal that has proved beyond them so often this season.

Van Gaal’s team have actually tended to start games well enough at home but a failure to score early has, generally speaking, taken a desperate toll on confidence.

Here last night, United finally bucked that trend. Once again, they began in relatively progressive fashion, pushing a surprisingly docile Stoke team back on their heels with play that boasted rhythm and tempo.

Juan Mata saw a shot deflected over in just the third minute before Anthony Martial bamboozled Glen Johnson down United’s left in what turned out to be rather portentous fashion.

Next, captain Wayne Rooney moved forward to bring a save from Jack Butland from distance.

So far, so typical. Decent football but no goals. This time, however, it changed as United actually took the lead and it was, in its own way, a lovely goal, even if it was soon to be eclipsed by a quite breathtaking second.

Full back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson received the ball wide on the left and played a lovely low cross to the far post where Jesse Lingard stooped, if not to conquer, then to head United in front.

Their first goal in front of their home supporters in the opening period of a Premier League game for 12 matches, it was greeted with prolonged cheering from the crowd. There may even have been some ironic celebration in there, too, it was hard to tell.

Regardless, Stoke manager Hughes certainly was not amused. His team had started poorly and the manner in which Ibrahim Afellay allowed Lingard to run off his shoulder won’t have impressed him. So, United in the lead and ready to make some hay.

Almost immediately a Rooney backheel played in Martial and the young Frenchman should have scored. As it was, he was just warming up as, in the 23rd minute, his stellar moment arrived.

In a move starting inside the United penalty area, the ball was shifted wide to full back Matteo Darmian and his pass down the right was collected by Mata.

The next touch was perhaps the key one as the Spaniard turned deftly inside to lose his man and open up space infield for Rooney, who chipped the ball across the top of the penalty area to Martial. The 20-year-old still had much to do but the way he controlled the ball and passed it on the half volley across Butland with his right instep and into the far corner was little short of majestic.

For all their problems, United have scored the occasional decent goal this season — Rooney’s in the FA Cup at Derby, for example. This, however, was relatively celestial, a goal that will long be remembered.

With only a quarter of the game gone, Stoke already looked in trouble. Hughes’ team were not themselves at all, short of their usual front-footed aggression.

Afellay threatened briefly on two occasions just after the half hour while the occasional darting run from Bojan Krkic threatened to cause the United defence some discomfort. 

But this was to be United’s game and it was sealed just before the hour when Mata ran into acres of space to feed Martial, who teed up Rooney at the far post.

Martial was his team’s best player while Mata, playing in his favoured ‘10’ position, was not far behind. More importantly, this was the type of performance that may bring United a little momentum.

With a third of the campaign yet to run, crisis club United are five points behind title contenders Arsenal. Funny season, this.

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3428818/Manchester-United-3-0-Stoke-Wayne-Rooney-Jesse-Lingard-Anthony-Martial-super-strike-Louis-van-Gaal-breathing-space.html)