Man Utd beat Stoke, shortening the gap with the top team Man City

Goals: Valencia 9', Martial 38', Lukaku 72'

Man Utd had an inspiring match with three beautiful goals to rekindle hopes of chasing neighbours Man City. Star Paul Pogba made two assists before Lukaku got on the scoresheet with a skillful move in the 18-yard box.

Antonio Valencia put the home side ahead after just nine minutes. Receiving a pass from Pogba, Valencia did not make his usual cross from the right wing but instead cut across the box before finishing with his left foot into the Stoke net. The goal had the shadow of winger Arjen Robben.

Following in the footsteps of his senior, Anthony Martial also scored a beautiful goal at the end of the match. The French striker finished with a one-touch shot from 20 meters away, leaving goalkeeper Jack Butland helpless despite jumping to block.

Stoke also created a few dangerous chances to score, with midfielder Stephan Ireland missing from 12 yards, while team-mates Xherdan Shaqiri and Mame Biram Diouf were unable to beat De Gea. The defeat left Stoke in 18th place.

Stoke could have lost by a bigger margin had England goalkeeper Jack Butland not denied Marcus Rashford late on. However, it was the seventh time Butland has conceded three or more goals in a Premier League game this season. Stoke have a poor defence, becoming the first team in Europe's top five leagues to concede 50 goals.

New Stoke manager Paul Lambert was in the stands at Old Trafford and watched his players being overwhelmed by Man Utd. The home team have been criticised for their goalscoring ability but were extremely sharp today. Man Utd scored twice from just three shots on target in the first half.

With Lukaku's goal, it seemed that Man Utd's attack had taken shape with the quartet of Martial, Lingard, Rashford and Mata taking turns playing in a three-man midfield behind Lukaku in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

If recent rumours are true that Alexis Sanchez will join Man Utd, the Chilean striker is best suited to the No. 10 position behind the striker. This is the position that Mourinho had hoped Mkhitaryan would take up but the Armenian midfielder is no longer in his plans.

In addition to the bright spot in attack, goalkeeper De Gea continues to be a pillar for his teammates with excellent saves. This is the 13th match that De Gea has kept a clean sheet after 23 rounds, the most among goalkeepers in the Premier League.

The Valencia captain also scored his third Premier League goal for Man Utd this season, the same number of goals as the Ecuadorian defender scored in the previous four seasons.