Manchester United V Stoke: Rating the United Players at Old Trafford

As ex teammate Ravel Morrison was completing a move down to the East End of London to West Ham, Darron Gibson was celebrating a deflected goal against Man City that put United back in the famed "driver's seat."

Meanwhile, approximately 30 miles down the East Lancs Road, Manchester United were sauntering to a 2-0 win that was neither entertaining or surprising.

Two penalties from Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez drained the already-depleted confidence from a Stoke side that was lacking ideas and a viable game plan.

Here is the rating of the United performance by each player individually. 

GK: Ben Amos

With David de Gea seemingly having caught a cold (at least he's catching something) and Anders Lindegaard leaving training with a protective boot, it was up to Ben Amos to handle the daunting task of dealing with Stoke's high balls and set pieces.

In the end, Amos had very little to worry about. With only two shots on target, neither hugely threatening, and just two corners to deal with, Amos could have stuck his feet up for large periods.

Rory "The Missile" Delap didn't enter the fray till the 75th minute, and what's more, the Stoke side was already deflated and showed almost no threat. 

Amos did, however, perform his job well, but I think you could have stuck John O'Shea in goal for this one.

Rating: 6.5/10

RB: Chris Smalling

It is evident that Smalling is not a full back.

I'm sure Ferguson sees the young defender as a future, great centre half, but with Stoke's natural instinct to play diagonal balls towards the back post, it was vital that they played a tall right full.

Hindsight is a great thing, and looking back, United could have probably done with a full back more comfortable moving forward. 

The first thing a defender must do is, obviously, defend, and Smalling really did keep Walters pretty quiet.

Rating: 6/10  

CB: Jonny Evans

Sir Alex has said before that he thinks Evans can be up there with the best United centre backs of all time.

Probably a spot of confidence-building by the great Scot, but Evans does receive his fair share of unwarranted criticism.

However, there was no need for negatives, because the Northern Ireland international dealt well with the obvious threat Stoke posed.

In the first half, he seemed hell-bent on providing an extra attacking threat, breaking from the defense Baresi-style (well not that good) and making sure Stoke's strikers couldn't relax in their defensive phase.

Tiny bit more refined in the second half but still played fine, considering he could have been blamed for not dealing with Carroll for Kuyt's goal last weekend.

Rating: 7/10

CB: Rio Ferdinand

The fact that Rio has been there, done it all and bought the t-shirt really helped in a game like this.

He covered Evans, leaving a lot of the ball winning to his younger counterpart. There was no need for a player that ran up and down the pitch trying to win mad 50-50 balls. There was, however, a need for an experienced player like Ferdinand.

He knew that if he tried to win in an aerial battle against Stoke, he would lose. Therefore, he used his cool head and would slyly knock into opposing players, putting their jump out of sync. He would intercept rather than engage in a physical battle and would rather concede possession than giving a rash free-kick that could cause major problems. 

Some critics might say that he's only a good defender with Vidic alongside him, but Ferdinand is the type of defender that would be adored in any other country but somehow is "soft" in England. He is, and will always be, a top defender. Tonight showed why.

Rating: 7/10

LB: Patrice Evra

As with Ferdinand, Evra's experience and drive was vital in the win.

His marauding runs caused Stoke problems all day and really should have been given a penalty in the second half to make it United's third of the night.

Pennant was poor on the night, and it was possibly Evra's incisive runs down the left, pushing Pennant back that led to the woeful perfomance. 

Rating: 7/10

RM: Antonio Valencia

Since United's pre-Christmas slump, Valencia has been the catalyst for the revival.

He outplayed Arsenal at the Emirates against a good defender in Vermaelan, he played well against Liverpool, setting up the first goal, and was a real threat tonight against Stoke.

Valencia is one of the quickest from a standing position I've seen at Old Trafford, and he really left the Stoke defenders behind in this game.

Possibly with a more attacking right back, he might have found more room, but he continued his run of good form with this win.

Rating: 8/10

CM: Michael Carrick

The great midfield partnership of Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick of bygone years seems to be back up and running.

Some said they were too alike to play together, but how they proved them wrong. Carrick was again excellent tonight.

Whether it be the passing range or that trademark peripheral vision, Carrick has nearly regained his form from the Champions League-winning year.

Really should have scored in the first half with a fine one-two, but really ran the show in the midfield with Scholes.

Rating 7.5/10

CM: Paul Scholes

People who snickered at Scholes' return are probably still snickering, but United fans are laughing. 

Bar possibly one over-hit diagonal pass, Scholes did not put a foot wrong against Stoke. 

He nearly scored another trademark pile-driver and orchestrated the play from a slightly deeper midfield position.

The master of setting the tempo, Scholes always wanted the play quicker tonight. He knew with such numbers Stoke kept at the back, United needed to hit them quick and incisively.

Rating: 8.5/10 MOTM

LM: Ji-Sung Park

Another workaholic performance from the South Korean, Park popped up in little pockets of space to try and break down the tight and resolute Stoke defence.

Linked well with Evra, especially in the first half, and then as he moved further centrally in the second half, he linked up well with Chicarito and Berbatov.

Rating: 6.5/10

CF: Dimitar Berbatov

Berbatov played the "Rooney role" with consummate ease and was the point of reference for the play between defence and midfield.

Obviously, he never broke a sweat, but he did slot home the stake into the heart of Stoke, which was the second penalty.

Again not really troubled or hassled, Berbatov would love to play like this every week.

Rating: 7/10

ST: Chicharito

Poachers like Hernandez are prone to very quiet nights now and again.

Chicharito hit home a penalty, but looking at the TV screen, we might only ever see the end product of the Mexican's work.

Looking at the game live and you see his movement and how he creates those precious pockets of space, you understand how good of a player he is.

Quiet nights and loud nights, you'd fancy the "Little Pea" to score anytime.

Rating: 6.5/10

Subs

Paul Pogba: The apparently "want-away" midfielder may have a future at the club after all due to a 17-minute spell towards to the end of the game. It is also possible the introduction of the young Frenchman may have been a stab at Ravel Morrison, showing the troubled youngster what you can achieve at United if you have patience.