Manchester United FC continued their march towards Premier League glory with a 2-0 win at Stoke City FC, after Sunderland AFC celebrated a 3-0 derby win at Newcastle United FC.
Manchester United FC brought their Premier League title dream into clearer view with a 2-0 win at struggling Stoke City FC, and it was also a good day for Sunderland AFC, who beat local rivals Newcastle United FC 3-0 to pull clear of the relegation zone.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side made the perfect start in their bid to bounce back from Monday's derby defeat by Manchester City FC when Michael Carrick opened the scoring with his first league goal of the season on four minutes. The hosts struggled to test David de Gea in the United goal and the result was put beyond doubt midway through the second half when Robin van Persie converted from the penalty spot after being brought down by Andy Wilkinson.
Earlier in the day, Paolo di Canio oversaw his first victory as Sunderland manager in an impressive Tyne–Wear derby win. Stéphane Sessegnon gave the visitors the lead on 27 minutes with a low shot into the bottom left corner, and things went from bad to worse for Newcastle when Tim Krul was taken off with an injury that could rule him out of the rest of the campaign.
Sunderland doubled their lead against the run of the play when Adam Johnson curled a superb effort into the top left-hand corner with 16 minutes remaining, and David Vaughan completed the scoring late on to lift Sunderland three points clear of the drop zone and two behind their opponents.