'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Antonio Valencia, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were on target as Manchester United cruised to victory over relegation-threatened Stoke City at Old Trafford. In a non-classic, it was playmaker Paul Pogba who stole the show, assisting the first two goals with neat passes.
Romelu Lukaku was rewarded for a persevering display, turning two defenders to rifle the ball past Jack Butland to seal the points for Jose Mourinho's side.
Here are the player ratings from the game:
Stoke City
Jack Butland - 6
The goalkeeper made a couple of decent saves and can be deemed pretty helpless to prevent each of the goals from being scored.
Moritz Bauer - 6
The Austrian fullback looked positive in the first half as he tried to get forward. However, the final quality in his crosses was lacking. He may have been fortunate to have been given the benefit of doubt after wrapping his arms around Anthony Martial in the box.
Kurt Zouma - 5
Zouma struggled to cope with the pace of the United attack that carved out three goals. His clearances were unconvincing and he will have to organize his defence much better if the Potters are to stay up.
Bruno Martins Indi - 5
The Dutchman too found the United forwards a handful to deal with. Romelu Lukaku was too strong for him on the night.
Josh Tymon - 4
It was an evening for Tymon to forget at left-back. He was too easily beaten by Valencia for the opening goal and failed to provide any impact moving forward. He was taken off at the break.
Darren Fletcher - 6
Fletcher was solid in front of a shaky defence on return to his former club, but will have to show more commitment to win the ball back on a regular basis if he has to help his current side avoid relegation
Joe Allen - 6
The Welshman was pivotal to Stoke displaying some positivity early in the game, but was soon faced with Pogba's dominance in midfield. Once the Frenchman got into the game, it was difficult for Allen to control proceedings.
Xherdan Shaqiri - 6
The winger showed his class in pockets, getting a few nice touches and nearly beating de Gea with an acrobatic scissor-kick. The Potters' fans would want more incision from a man of his qualities to help them get the required points to survive.
Stephen Ireland - 5
It was a poor return to the starting line-up for Stephen Ireland, missing a number of opportunities to get Stoke City on the scoresheet.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - 6
The Cameroonian nearly scored after David de Gea failed to deal with Darren Fletcher's cross, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Phil Jones. He looked vibrant on the left side of attacking midfield in the early stages, but petered out as the game progressed.
Peter Crouch - 6
Crouch used his aerial prowess to impose early pressure on Manchester United, testing their centre-halves when crosses were delivered. He was denied of any real service later in the game.
Substitutions:
Kevin Wimmer - 6
Wimmer looked more of an assured presence at the back than Tymon, but the damage had already been done in the first half.
Ramadan Sobhi - 5
He was introduced with around half an hour to go, but could do very little to impact the game as United looked to see the tie out.
Mame Biram Diouf - 5
Once a United player, Diouf was brought on to get some fresh legs into Stoke's play. He forced de Gea into a save, but that was the only goal-bound chance he got.
Manchester United
David de Gea - 7
A rare lapse of concentration nearly led to de Gea conceding a goal, only to be bailed out by Phil Jones' excellent block. He made a few saves and managed to come out with a clean sheet.
Antonio Valencia - 8
It was a memorable return from injury for the right-back, cutting inside Tymon before curling the ball into the net with his so-called weaker left foot. He was intense on the flanks and never looked like giving away any easy crossing opportunities.
Chris Smalling - 7
Smalling continued his recent good form with a solid performance at the back. He led the defence well and did enough to prevent opportunities from being capitalised upon with some confident defensive clearances.
Phil Jones - 7.5
Another flawless display from Jones at the back, who capped his performance with a wonderful block from Choupo-Moting's goal-bound shot after David de Gea failed to clear his lines from Fletcher's cross.
Luke Shaw - 6.5
Shaw looked off-pace at times, but was mostly disciplined on the left side and defended Shaqiri's quick feet quite well.
Nemanja Matic - 6.5
It was not the best night Matic had in a United shirt, misplacing a few passes and not living up to the pace of the game. However, he did enough to help his side eke out a clean sheet.
Paul Pogba - 8.5
The Frenchman ran proceedings in midfield with an energetic display. His passing was top class and he bagged two sublime assists to send Valencia and Martial on their way.
Juan Mata - 7
Mata's passing was exquisite and the expected arrival of Alexis Sanchez to Old Trafford will hopefully allow him the freedom to ply his trade in the heart of the attack - from the number 10 position.
Jesse Lingard - 6.5
Lingard was involved in most attacks but could not really apply the finishing material which has contributed to his recent goal-scoring form.
Anthony Martial - 7.5
Martial kept Bauer on his toes throughout the game with his footwork and planted a magnificent shot to beat Butland and put the game beyond doubt.
Romelu Lukaku - 7
Lukaku's work-ethic was immense, holding up the ball around the box and turning defenders to get into goal-scoring positions. He scored United's third goal with a fierce strike to wipe out any chance of a Potters' comeback.
Substitutions:
Marouane Fellaini - N/A
Was brought on for Jesse Lingard in the 80th minute, but couldn't affect the game much.
Scott McTominay - N/A
McTominay was introduced late in the game for Juan Mata to see out proceedings but had little time to make a significant impact
Marcus Rashford - N/A
Rashford replaced Martial in the 80th minute, with the game and all three points already in the bag.
