Stoke City beats Manchester United for 1st time since 1984 in England's top flight league

Johannesburg: Struggling defending champions Manchester United has squandered another opportunity to make up ground on the Premier League`s top four following their 2-1 defeat by Stoke City on Saturday at the Britannia Stadium.

United fielded Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and record signing Juan Mata in their starting XI for the first time, but an eighth defeat of the campaign left the champions six points below the Champions League places. According to Sport24, Stoke took a 38th-minute lead with Charlie Adam `s 35-yard free-kick and although United equalised two minutes into the second half with a goal from Van Persie, however, Adam restored Stoke`s lead five minutes later with an impressive shot into the top-right corner. The report mentioned that the victory was Stoke`s first win over United since December 1984 and saw them climb to 11th place in the table.