Paul Pogba pulled the strings as Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 victory against Stoke City at a wintry Old Trafford on Monday evening.
With new boss Paul Lambert watching on from the stands, Stoke struggled against an impressive United, with Antonio Valencia netting a wonderful opener WITH HIS LEFT FOOT nine minutes in after being set up by Pogba.
Before the break, the hosts netted another superb goal, with Pogba feeding Anthony Martial, who produced a fine first-time curling effort which eluded Jack Butland in the Stoke goal.
While United were the better side throughout, Stoke created a number of chances themselves, with a recalled Stephen Ireland and Xherdan Shaqiri, among others, going close.
However, on 72 minutes, Romelu Lukaku would net the third and final goal of the game to finish things off and secure a deserved win for United.
Jose Mourinho’s men close the gap on leaders Manchester City to 12 points, still quite a mountain to climb.
As for Stoke, they stay in the drop-zone, with Lambert facing a major task to lift his struggling new team to safety.