Manchester United moved 15
points clear at the top of the
Premier League after a
comfortable 2-0 victory at free-
falling Stoke. Michael Carrick gave them a
perfect start at the Britannia
Stadium before Robin Van Persie
ended his own personal goal
drought with a second half
penalty. It was the ideal opening for
United as Van Persie's corner was
not cleared by Geoff Cameron
and Carrick was on hand to
scramble home his second goal of
the campaign - poking his right- foot shot into the far corner. The visitors came close to a
second in similar circumstances as
Patrice Evra fired over from
another Van Persie delivery while
Wayne Rooney, playing in a
central midfield role, saw his effort well saved by Asmir
Begovic. Stoke were unusually troubled at
defensive set-pieces and Carrick
headed wide from Rooney's
corner while an audacious Van
Persie effort from 45 yards went
well wide of its target in the blustery conditions. United were first to create a
chance in the second 45 minutes
as Javier Hernandez played in
Van Persie with a delicate pass,
but the Dutchman shot into the
side-netting from the angle. However, United deservedly
doubled their lead after 66
minutes when Van Persie was
fouled by Andy Wilkinson in the
area and Jon Moss immediately
pointed to the spot. The forward, who was without a
goal since February before this
game, ignored the wind, which
had blown the ball off its spot, to
fire low and hard to Begovic's
left. It was his 20th goal of the
campaign and he sprinted down
the touchline and headed
straight for Sir Alex Ferguson.
The manager lifted him up for a
hug and then high-fived team- mates. United now need only seven
points from their remaining six
games to ensure they cannot be
caught by Manchester City and
could win the title as early as
next Monday night against Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Stoke find themselves
in real danger of slipping into the
relegation zone, having won just
once in 13 league games in 2013. Tony Pulis' side currently sit
three points above the trapdoor,
but they have played two games
more than third-bottom Wigan
Athletic.