Potters pay the penalty as Man Utd dispatch two spot kicks for victory

Jan 31 2012

Man Utd 2 Stoke 0

A pair of penalties from Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov proved enough to give injury-ravaged Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Stoke at Old Trafford.

Without 11 senior players though injury, including both his goalkeepers, Sir Alex Ferguson gave Premier League debuts to Ben Amos and substitute Paul Pogba.

However, they were never seriously threatened by a subdued Stoke outfit, who failed to respond after they were punished for fouls on Park Ji-sung and Antonio Valencia.

The win brought Manchester United level on points with title rivals Manchester City, who lost 1-0 away to Everton thanks to a strike by Man Utd old boy Darron Gibson.