MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester United slumped to a 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday to puncture the optimism generated by Juan Matas arrival and leave the reigning champions with a huge task to finish in the Champions League positions. Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. It was Stokes maiden win over United in the Premier League, and first since 1984. "I dont know what we have to do to win," said United manager David Moyes. Everton bounced back from its derby thrashing by Liverpool in midweek by coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 2-1 and climb to fifth above Tottenham, which drew 1-1 at Hull. Cardiff climbed off the bottom by scoring two goals in 73 seconds at the start of the second half to defeat Norwich 2-1. That left Fulham, which was overwhelmed 3-0 at home to Southampton, two points adrift in last place. West Ham completes the bottom three even though it beat Swansea 2-0 thanks to a brace by Kevin Nolan. That win was marred by a red card to striker Andy Carroll for elbowing an opponent. The other match saw Sunderland earn a second straight 3-0 win at Newcastle in the northeast derby, sparking anger and frustration by home fans disillusioned by the sale of star player Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain this week. Such is the tightness of the bottom half of the table, Sunderland -- like Stoke -- is now nearer mid-table than the relegation zone. With Mata joining from Chelsea for a club-record fee last week and both Wayne Rooney and Van Persie back fit, things looked like turning around for United and its under-pressure manager David Moyes. Most thought the comfortable 2-0 win over Cardiff on Tuesday would be the first in a run of victories to lift the champions up to the top four, but they came unstuck at the hands of a gutsy Stoke side managed by a former United favourite, Mark Hughes. "I thought we were, to a man, fantastic," said Hughes, who played 467 games for United. "We got a great reward for a huge amount of effort." Stoke enjoyed some fortune with the first goal, with Adams long-range free kick in the 38th taking a wicked deflection off Michael Carrick and flying into the far corner past stranded goalkeeper David de Gea. Mata set up Van Persie to make it 1-1 in the 47th but Adam grabbed what proved to be the winner from 25 yards five minutes later. "It is a massive result against a great team," Adam said. Belgium forward Kevin Mirallas popped up with Evertons winning goal from a free kick in the 85th minute, after Steven Naismith had cancelled out Leandro Bacunas opener for Villa. Everton is provisionally a point behind neighbour Liverpool, which beat its Merseyside rival 4-0 on Tuesday. Tottenham moved four points clear of United after Paulinhos 61st-minute goal earned a draw against Hull, which took the lead through Shane Longs first goal for the club since his recent move from West Brom. Air Jordan 4 Ireland Online . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings. Air Jordan 4 Ireland . Ontario Superior Court Case Management Master Ronald Dash released the decision on Monday, saying John McCaw Jr. must testify in front of a jury by live video conference. Moores lawyer, Tim Danson, asked the court to compel McCaw - who is based in Seattle - to testify in the case back on February 27. http://www.airjordan4ireland.com/ .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. Cheap Air Jordan 4 For Sale . After losing a shutout bid in the dying seconds of Sundays win over the Colorado Avalanche, Luongo would not be denied against the punchless Oilers and is now just one back of Patrick Roy for 14th on the all-time list. Air Jordan 4 Ireland Sale . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish.St. Andrews, Scotland (SportsNetwork.com) - Oliver Wilson carded a third- round, 7-under 65 on Saturday and he took the lead once again heading into the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Wilson, who held the first-round lead after tying the course record on the Championship Course at Carnoustie Golf Club on Thursday, finished 54 holes at 15-under-par 201 and he holds a 3-shot advantage. Wilson played on the Old Course at St. Andrews Saturday. Theres 18 holes, long holes, and its going to be a long day tomorrow, but it would mean a lot, said Wilson, who does not have a win on tour. I love this tournament and Ive done well here before. I love coming to the Old Course, all the courses, but that walk up 18 is pretty cool. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, coming off a win as a member of the European team at last weeks Ryder Cup, vaulted into a tie for second after an 8-under 64 at St. Andrews. McIlroy was joined at 12-under 204 by second-round leader Raphael Jacquelin (69), Tommy Fleetwood (62) and Alexander Levy (68), all of whom also played at St. Andrews. Chris Wood (66), Ryan Palmer (68) and Richie Ramsay (68) are all four shots back at 11-under. Wood played at Kingsbarns Golf Links, while Palmer and Ramsay were at St. Andrews. Wilson started off on the right foot at St. Andrews and he never faltered during his third round. After a birdie at the first, Wilson poured in three straight pars. An eagle on the par-5 fifth preceded another birdie on the sixth, putting Wilson at minus-4 through six. After making the turn with three straight pars from No. 7, Wilson drained another birdie on No. 10. He added two more gains on 13 and 14 to spread the gap to three shots. Wilson closed out his bogey-free round with four straight pars to end at 15-under through 54 holes. I played good today, Wilson said. Left a lot out there, as well, which is a bit frustrating but obviously Im pleased with how I played, especially coming down the stretch, hit a lot of good shots. McIlroy, who is notorious for pplaying well at St.dddddddddddd Andrews, came storming out of the gate, which saw him tied for the lead multiple times. After starting off with a pair of pars, McIlroy rattled off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch from No. 3, with the lone par coming on No. 8. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland kept things going with three more birdies in four holes from No. 11. McIlroys one mistake came at No. 16, where he tripped to a bogey, dropping him back to minus-8 for the day. He finished off with a pair of pars to end there. I got off to a really fast start and was trying to keep it going, and I sort of did through the turn, McIlroy said. The last four holes werent really what I wanted. But any time you shoot a score like that around St. Andrews, you have to be happy. Fleetwood used a string of birdies in the middle of his round on his way to tying the best round of the day. After making a birdie at the first, Fleetwood poured in three straight pars from No. 2. A run of seven birdies in eight holes from No. 5 vaulted Fleetwood up the leaderboard, putting him in contention. The 23-year-old finished off his day with birdies on 15 and 18, completing a bogey-free round a day after making just one birdie and two bogeys at Kingsbarns on Friday. Levy also had a bogey-free round, which featured three birdies, while Jacquelin held steady, but could not hang on to his lead after making four birdies and one bogey. NOTES: Wilson has nine runner-up finishes in his career, but he has yet to win on the European Tour ... Like Fleetwood, Louis Oosthuizen also shot a 10-under 62 at St. Andrews. He is tied for ninth at 10-under 206 ... In his last nine rounds at St. Andrews, Oosthuizen has shot in the 60s eight times ... With a 64 Saturday, McIlroy missed out on tying his career best round on the European Tour, which is a 63, by one shot ... The start of the third round was delayed an hour due to overnight rain ... With the cut falling at 4-under 212, 72 players advanced to Sunday. ' ' '