Man of the Match: Stoke City 2-1 Manchester United

Charlie Adam emerged as Stoke City’s hero as he fired two goals to inspire the Potters to a pivotal 2-1 victory over Manchester United.

There’s no denying the fact that United struggled to break the resilient Stoke side and it was partially due to Adam’s influence in the middle of the park.

He drove the entire Stoke midfield forward and played in a box-to-box role as he tormented United’s midfield.

Moyes had to make two subsitutions in the first half, with both Jones and Evans coming off with injuries. And leaving Cleverley alone in the heart of United’s midfield never seemed wise as well, as Adam rant rampant.

The first goal could be considered as it took a wicked deflection off Carrick, en route to hitting the back of the net. But Adam’s second strike was pure magic, to say the least.

Sir Alex once famously said that Charlie Adam’s delivery and shots alone were worth 10 million pounds and his goal was certainly a testament to that statement.

But beyond just the goals, Adam’s overall contribution to Stoke was phenomenal. He was relentless in closing the United midfield down, and never allowed Cleverley or even Rooney much time and space on the ball. A scintillating performance from Adam; something that Mark Hughes would have been delighted with