Half-time Update: Manchester United 1-0 Stoke City

Manchester United dominated the first-half against Stoke and deserved to go in ahead at half-time.

Sir Alex Ferguson made a number of tweaks to the United side, the most surprising coming with Chris Smalling moving into the middle of the defence. Nani took his place out on the right of midfield while Wayne Rooney was given a rest due to a sore ankle with Javier Hernandez coming into the team.

United started quickly with Hernandez looking bright. Rafael whipped a good ball down the right inside the third minute, Hernandez raced across the front line to pick the ball up before firing it across the penalty area. However, Stoke goalkeeper Begovic smothered the ball at the near post.

Darron Gibson was next to go close with a decent shot in the seventh minute. An exchange of passes between Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs on the left saw the ball rolled to Gibson who failed to force Begovic into a save.

Stoke settled into the opening stages of the match and Andy Wilkinson should have done better just before the quarter of an hour mark. Striker Tuncay played the ball to Wilkinson who took too long in a good position to decide his next move before United captain Nemanja Vidic stole the ball away.

Dimitar Berbatov had the first real chance of the match to score after a great forward run from Darren Fletcher. Berbatov controlled the ball superbly on the edge of the area before spinning and having his shot blocked by Wilkinson. United were dominant throughout the first 15 minutes.

Berbatov was again in the play just after 20 minutes when he latched onto a deflected shot. Giggs burst into the box and had an effort, which found a way into Berbatov’s path. The Bulgarian poked a foot out and watched the ball roll narrowly wide when it seemed easier to score.

United kept the pressure on their opponents and it paid off inside the 27th minute when Hernandez put them 1-0 up. Nani managed to get the ball to the Mexican who was six yards out and made no mistake by flicking into the right hand corner of the goal

To their credit Stoke responded well when Wilkinson broke down the right hand side of the pitch. He whipped in a good ball but Tomasz Kuszczak was sharp and raced out of the United goal to catch and clear the danger. Marc Wilson had a shot from long range a few minutes later but it flew into the stands and was greeted with universal cheers.

Nani faired little better with the half-time break approaching. He ran at the Stoke defence who backed off and gave him ample room to get a shot away. However, he lost his balance slightly and the ball flew well wide to be greeted by a similar amount of cheering from the travelling support.

United dug in for the last few minutes of the half and looked very comfortable. Ferguson’s men remain a good investment at 3/20 to win. Berbatov looks good to score at any point with odds of 17/10.