United lose again as Stoke's Adam fires brace

Manchester United slipped to their eighth league defeat of the season on Saturday as they lost to Stoke City for the first time in the Premier League era.

United's hopes of qualifying for the Uefa Champions League suffered a major blow on the weekend as a poor 2014 continues.

David Moyes' men have been dumped out of both domestic Cup competitions since the turn of the year, and have now lost three out of five league matches since 2014 calendars donned out walls.

Once again, United's lack of creative spark was all too evident. Despite bossing possession, it was a familiar story as the travelling Red Army watched their side struggle to test opposition stopper Asmir Begovic.

With new signing Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie starting together for the first time, there was hope that a new era was to begin at the Britannia Stadium as United look to recover from a stuttering campaign to date.

However, it was Mark Hughes' Stoke who grabbed all three points, with Charlie Adam's free-kick breaking the deadlock seven minutes before the break.

United levelled soon after the interval as RVP linked up with Mata to restore parity. That didn't deter the Potters, however, who wrestled back the lead only minutes later as Adam beat De Gea with a thunderbolt, long-range effort.

The Red Devils began to surge forward in search of an equaliser, but Sparky's Stoke looked equally dangerous on the counter-attack. Rooney had a late effort tipped over the bar at the death, but there was to be no equaliser and United have now lost one third of league matches under Moyes' stewardship.

Following Liverpool's 1-1 draw at West Brom on Sunday, United sit seven points behind the fourth-placed Scousers. We return to action at home to Fulham and three points is now surely a minimum requirement.

Full Time - Stoke City 2-1 Manchester United
Attendance - 26,547