Manchester United vs. Stoke City: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Manchester United made light work of Stoke City on Tuesday night at Old Trafford, cruising to a 3-0 victory that puts their Premier League top-four ambitions firmly back on track.
Jesse Lingard headed home the opener early on after a great Cameron Borthwick-Jackson cross from the left, and Anthony Martial scored a stunning second to compound the advantage before half-time.
Stoke pushed on a bit more in the second period and enjoyed some better spells but were punished by a sucker-punch counter-attack goal from Wayne Rooney after a blistering, incisive move.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Anthony Martial, Manchester United
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Anthony Martial put in a stellar performance on Tuesday night, twisting and turning his way down the left flank for 90 minutes and chipping in with a goal and an assist, too.
Manchester United started positively and fed the Frenchman early, and his jinking runs and dangerous moves were the catalyst for a stark upturn in team confidence. He fired several warning shots—most notably playing in Juan Mata for a scoring chance—before eventually finding the top corner in Thierry Henry fashion from the corner of the box.
His every action—be it a pass, a dribble or a flick—came off, and the assist for Wayne Rooney's tap-in was the icing on a truly tremendous showing.
Losers: Stoke City’s Cast of Right-Backs
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Spare a thought for both Glen Johnson and Phil Bardsley; they were both torn apart by Anthony Martial on Tuesday at Old Trafford.
Johnson started the game at right-back, and Martial had the beating of him within the first two minutes, torturing him one-on-one and constantly finding space to play. Injuries forced a re-shuffle after 30 minutes. Johnson moved inside, Bardsley replaced him on the right—and he was beaten instantly, too.
For 60 minutes, Bardsley looked terrified of his marker; he hesitated in every challenge and struggled to get anywhere near him. Johnson still looked suspect, too, despite moving centrally, being beaten over the top and for strength on at least three occasions.
Winner: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
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Wayne Rooney has been bubbling into form over the past month or so. Take out the blank drawn against Southampton, and January was rather kind to him.
That form has continued into February, with the Englishman scoring one and assisting on another in the 3-0 win over Stoke City. He had another chalked off for a foul, too.
His best moment was the scintillating cross-field pass to pick out Anthony Martial for Manchester United’s second. The precision and execution on the ball was just to die for.
Loser: Marko Arnautovic, Stoke City
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Back in December, Stoke City beat Manchester United at the Britannia Stadium, and they beat them well. In that game, Marko Arnautovic was a key figure and a match-winner.
But the Potters’ momentum has severely dropped off, and that’s linked intrinsically to Arnautovic’s loss of form. Injury has played a part in that, but Stoke City manager Mark Hughes needed him to put in a star showing on Tuesday...and he put in the complete opposite.
The Austrian has mastered the art of cutting a frustrated figure, and we were treated to an expose at Old Trafford. Most balls lofted to him did not stick, any shots he took ended in the stands and he held onto the ball too long far too often.
There will be better days ahead for the extremely talented wide forward.
Winner: Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Manchester United
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Manchester United’s injury crisis has ensured Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has received a run at full-back. While previous performances have been a little up and down, Tuesday’s was mature, effective and noteworthy for all the right reasons.
It was his left-wing cross that created the first goal for Jesse Lingard, and what a lovely delivery it was. He got forward well and sent a few more in as the evening progressed and defended well against Stoke City’s tricky, tough combination of Jonathan Walters and Ibrahim Afellay.
What a way to celebrate your 19th birthday.
