Stoke City boss Mark Hughes blames poor start for Manchester United loss

Mark Hughes blamed a poor start for Stoke City's 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday.

The Potters were two goals down inside the opening 23 minutes after Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial struck at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney added a third in the second half as Stoke missed the chance to claim a maiden Premier League double over the Reds.

United ease past Stoke

Manchester United maintained their push for the top four with a comfortable 3-0 win over Stoke.

"We didn't start off in the right manner to be honest, that was the story of our night," Hughes told Sky Sports.

"We conceded early on, were too passive in and around our box in the defensive third and didn't get close enough to stop people were trying to do.

"We conceded a poor goal and allowed runners off the back of people, so they were 1-0 to the good. Before you come to Old Trafford you talk about trying to keep it goalless for as long as you can and see how the game pans out.

"Unfortunately we conceded another poor goal where we got a little bit strung out. From then on it was always going to be a difficult night for us.

"We were better in the second half in terms of at least trying to have a go, but you run the risk of being caught on the break, which we did. In the end it was probably a damage limitation excise for us."

Tuesday's defeat marks a run of three disappointing results for the Potters, following their penalty shoot-out exit in the Capital One Cup semi-final and FA Cup elimination in the two preceding games.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Asked whether he thought his squad was suffering a hangover from cup disappointment, Hughes was quick to refute such a claim, adding: "If there is a hangover from that it should have dissipated by now.

"We're disappointed we weren't able to get to the same level of performance with the same team [as fielded against Liverpool in League Cup semi-final].

"We need to get to the bottom of why our performance levels are inconsistent at the moment."

Phillipp Wollscheid hobbled off in the first half at Old Trafford as Stoke suffered another injury to a defender.

"We are a little bit threadbare now," Hughes said. "We took a risk to leave Phil Bardsley on the bench and it came back and bit us.

"We're hopeful Ryan [Shawcross] is close but if not we'll have to see who's on the building."