Manchester United mwendo wa Kupewa kichapo....Stoke 2-0 Manchester United

Louis van Gaal's gamble to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench backfired as another poor apology of a Manchester United performance saw them deservedly beaten 2-0 by Stoke City. It was United's fourth defeat in a row – the worst run since 1990 when Sir Alex Ferguson was fighting for his job.

Goals by Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic in the opening half-hour killed any hopes United had of winning their first match in seven. At the time, Rooney was sat despondently in the dugout behind assistant Ryan Giggs, and was unable to change the game after being sent on at half time for Memphis Depay, whose blunder set up the opening goal.

All eyes will now be on whether Van Gaal survives until Monday's game against Chelsea. Certainly the United manager is running out of people to blame and it was maybe not a good sign for him that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward wasn't at the Britannia to support him. 

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Bojan Krkic shares his delight with team-mates after setting Stoke City off on the way to victory over Manchester United on Saturday

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Bojan Krkic slides home through a desperate United defence to put Stoke in front after 19 minutes on Boxing Day

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Spanish forward Bojan peels away in celebration after his opener in Stoke's 2-0 win which saw the Potters climb to eighth 

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Memphis Depay's poor defensive diving header, attempting to find keeper David de Gea, allows Glen Johnson to square for Bojan

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Marko Arnautovic then doubled Stoke's advantage seven minutes later with a stunning effort from outside the box after a free-kick 

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Arnautovic (left) rifled his superb long-range strike past the onlooking Depay to add Stoke's second after the set-piece hit the wall

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Could this be goodbye? United boss Louis van Gaal waves to fans after his side fall to their fourth consecutive defeat at the Britannia

MATCH FACTS, STATS, PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE 

Stoke (4-2-3-1): Butland 6; Johnson 7, Shawcross 6.5, Wollscheid 6, Pieters 6; Whelan 6.5 (Van Ginkel 45 6), Cameron 6 (Adam 75 6); Shaqiri 7 (Diouf 65 6.5), Afellay 6.5, Arnautovic 8; Bojan 7.5 

Subs not used: Haugaard, Joselu, Wilson, Walters

Booked: Bojan

Goals: Bojan 19', Arnautovic 26' 

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6; Young 5.5, Jones 5.5, Smalling 5.5, Blind 5; Carrick 6, Herrera 6.5 (Pereira 82); Mata 5.5, Fellaini 6, Depay 5 (Rooney 45); Martial 6 

Subs not used: Romero, Schneiderlin, Varela, McNair, Borthwick-Jackson

Booked: Young, Pereira

Referee: Kevin Friend

Attendance: 27,426 

Player ratings by Joe Bernstein at the Britannia Stadium 

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One fan donning a Jose Mourinho mask gleefully waved a mock P45 around and the body language between Van Gaal and his assistant Ryan Giggs was again dreadful.

The away support at Stoke defiantly gave the team their backing as they trudged off and Van Gaal waved to them as thanks. A goodbye or not, we will have to see.

Following his press conference walk-out on Wednesday, the United boss took another big decision by leaving Rooney on the bench. Despite his poor current form, it was still a shock to see the captain not starting such a crucial game.

Both Van Gaal and replacement skipper Michael Carrick had their serious game faces on as the teams walked out at the Britannia Stadium, but there was no disguising United were distinctly second-best in the opening 45 minutes.