Manchester United maintained their 100 per cent start to 2018 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over a Stoke side watched by their incoming boss Paul Lambert.

Antonio Valencia, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku got the goals as United responded to leaders Manchester City’s first Premier League loss with a third win of the calendar year to cut the gap to Pep Guardiola’s men to 12 points.

Jose Mourinho’s attention will now turn to transfers, with City understood to have stood aside in the pursuit of United target Alexis Sanchez on Monday night, while Potters boss Lambert will focus on elevating Stoke out of the bottom three when he starts work on Tuesday.

What they said

Man United boss Jose Mourinho: “I didn’t like the first half, I only like two amazing goals. Second half, totally different. We missed lots of chances because we accelerate the game. We recover the ball faster, we didn’t let them play. (Phil) Jones and (Chris) Smalling brought the line up so that it was impossible for Peter Crouch to put a foot in the box. In the second half, we played confidently and fast and aggressive and I liked the second half.”

Stoke interim boss Eddie Niedzwiecki: “I thought they showed the new manager some really encouraging signs. It really needs the club to pull together now. There’s been too much negativity, too much. As an old manager said to me, if they are all pulling the bell in the same way then the bell will ring. If they are not pulling the bell the same way, it won’t ring and then you’ve got a problem. End of story.”

Tweet of the match

Star man – Paul Pogba

Another slick performance from the France international, who teed up the first two goals and produced many other eye-catching passes. Compatriot Martial also impressed.

Business imminent for United?

There was plenty of talk in the build-up about potential transfer activity for United – and that only increased on Monday evening. During the game the Red Devils’ chances of signing Sanchez looked to be boosted, with it being understood that Manchester City had ended their interest in signing the Chilean. And just prior to kick-off Henrikh Mkhitaryan, reportedly a possible makeweight in the Sanchez deal, appeared close the United exit door. The Armenian did not feature in the hosts’ matchday squad and Mourinho said doubts over the midfielder’s future had influenced the decision to leave him out.

Watching brief for Lambert

There was a major piece of news involving Stoke earlier on Monday as they announced Lambert’s appointment. The Scot was in the stands at Old Trafford – first-team coach Eddie Niedzwiecki overseeing things from the dug-out – and observed a mixed bag of a display from the Potters. Certainly, there were encouraging moments, with the visitors having a number of chances to score. But those opportunities were not seized upon, and in the end, it was a comfortable victory for United. Stoke are 18th, have conceded 50 goals in 23 league games and Lambert looks to have a considerable job on his hands.

Ratings

Manchester United: David De Gea 7 (out of 10), Antonio Valencia 7, Phil Jones 7, Chris Smalling 6, Luke Shaw 6, Nemanja Matic 6, Paul Pogba 8, Juan Mata 6, Jesse Lingard 6, Anthony Martial 8, Romelu Lukaku 7. Substitutes: Marouane Fellaini (for Lingard, 80 mins) 6, Marcus Rashford (for Martial, 80) 6, Scott McTominay (for Mata, 83) 6.

Stoke: Jack Butland 6, Moritz Bauer 6, Kurt Zouma 6, Bruno Martins Indi 6, Josh Tymon 5, Darren Fletcher 6, Joe Allen 6, Xherdan Shaqiri 6, Stephen Ireland 6, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 5, Peter Crouch 5. Substitutes: Kevin Wimmer (for Tymon, 46) 5, Ramadan Sobhi (for Choupo-Moting, 61) 5, Mame Diouf (for Crouch, 70) 5.

Who’s up next?

Manchester United v Stoke City – Premier League – Old Trafford
(Martin Rickett/PA)

Burnley v Manchester United (Premier League, January 20)

Stoke v Huddersfield (Premier League, January 20)