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Manchester United's Nani strikes a blow to deflate Stoke City's hopes

احدث اجدد واروع واجمل واشيك Manchester United's Nani strikes a blow to deflate Stoke City's hopes

Manchester United will renew hostilities with Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday confidently believing they have moved into a position to overhaul their old rivals as the most successful league team in English football. This win puts them three points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand on second-placed Manchester City, and a record 19th title will beckon unless opponents can work out how Sir Alex Ferguson's team can be defeated.

Unbeaten in the league all season, Ferguson's team are not always reaching the heights that are demanded of this club, but playing with a sense of purpose and knowhow that may be good enough.

Other teams would have wilted when Dean Whitehead's header early in the second half cancelled out Javier Hernández's sumptuous 27th-minute goal but United simply regrouped, stepped up the tempo and reasserted their authority, Nani scoring the winner with a lovely strike from outside the penalty area.

United are now nine points ahead of the champions Chelsea and will reflect on a satisfying night's work given that this was an experimental side, with half a dozen changes from the 2-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, and enough players missing to offer Stoke a rare glimmer of hope at a ground that has been cruel to them over the years.

Stoke have tended to capitulate on their visits to Old Trafford, not winning here since 1976 and losing the previous two matches 5-0 and 4-0, but in the opening part of this game they did a good job to subdue the home crowd.

United were not at their best in those moments. Their first opening did not arrive until the midway point of the half, when Ryan Giggs's deflected shot ricocheted into Dimitar Berbatov's path only for the Bulgarian to poke his shot wide. That apart, they lacked creativity and penetration and, with Stoke's defence looking relatively assured, there were the first murmurs of discontent in the stands.

Yet Hernández has already demonstrated this season that he is an accomplished replacement for Wayne Rooney and this was another classy goal for the portfolio of his first season in English football. The Mexican is not just a predatory and clinical striker, but an improvisational one. When United won at Stoke in October he scored one of his two goals with a twisting header that barely seemed plausible. On this occasion he beat the goalkeeper Asmir Begovic with an impudent finish off the corner of his heel.

When Nani latched on to Berbatov's pass on the right wing and put in a low centre Hernández was coming towards the ball at a difficult angle to shoot, closely marshalled by Robert Huth. Undeterred, Hernández darted in front of his marker, shielded the ball with his left foot and flicked it goalwards with his right boot. It was audacious and instinctive and brilliantly pulled off. He is not the first to score this kind of goal but it is still a rarity and, for that, he deserves all the accolades that will come his way.

Ferguson had given Rio Ferdinand a night off, with Chris Smalling deputising alongside Nemanja Vidic in the centre of defence. Tomasz Kuszczak continued in place of the unwell Edwin van der Sar and the manager took no chances with Rooney, the hope being that he will have recovered from his ankle injury in time for Sunday.

With United ahead, Stoke's record on this ground suggested that the home side would then run away with the game. Yet this was a strange night, one of those matches when the crowd is quiet and routine passes went astray.

United missed Rooney's drive at times but, with Paul Scholes injured and Michael Carrick left on the bench until 12 minutes before the end, they needed someone in midfield to put his foot on the ball and control the rhythm.

Even so, what happened five minutes into the second half was so unexpected as to be shocking. Stoke had barely threatened Kuszczak's goal until that point but Smalling was guilty of losing his position and then standing off Tuncay Sanli as the attacker crossed from the left. With Smalling stranded , Dean Whitehead eluded the home defence, moving in between Vidic and Patrice Evra, to direct a header into the bottom corner.

Stoke's joy was short-lived. After 61 minutes Nani took Hernández's pass and the left-back Danny Collins did not close him down quickly enough. The Portuguese's left-foot diagonal shot was another extraordinary goal in what for long spells was an ordinary game.

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