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. Wholesale Mets Jerseys . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. New York Mets Gear . Louis Blues and back into top spot of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. The Sharks had been ranked No. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Mets Jerseys 2020 . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. New York Mets Shirts . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Chandler Parsons hasnt adjusted to the Dallas Mavericks as quickly as he would have liked.Wednesday, though, he took a step in the right direction.Parsons, who signed with Dallas this summer, scored a season-high 32 points as the Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 117-106.The more I play with these guys, the more comfortable I feel, he said. Im just finding my rhythm right now, and were starting to roll.Parsons fell two points short of his career high as he helped the Mavericks win a second road game in two nights. Monta Ellis added 25 points and Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds, including seven points to help stem a late Detroit rally.We were struggling a little in the third quarter, but Parsons hit a lot of big shots and Monta took over the game with some 1-on-1 stuff, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. We needed every point and we needed every rebound.Andre Drummond had 19 points and 24 rebounds, but couldnt help the Pistons end an 11-game losing streak at home.That was probably Andres best game of the season, and it is definitely the hardest he has played all year, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. He was getting up and down the floor and he was active on defence.Detroits last win at the Palace came on Nov. 7 against Milwaukee.This is definitely embarrassing, said Kyle Singler, who struggled badly against Parsons. Weve got to learn from this and find a way to win at home. You cant lose every game in your own building like this.Drummond dominated the first half with 11 points and 13 rebounds, although he missed five of his six free-throw attempts. His teammates only shot 40.5 per cent from the floor, but that was enough to keep Detroit within 53-51 at the half.I was amazed, Carlisle said. He jumps and he just hangs in the air until he gets his hand on thee ball.dddddddddddd Ive never seen a guy get his hands on so many lobs, shots ? everything.The Mavericks scored 32 points in the first quarter, but couldnt keep it going in the second quarter, hitting only five shots. Ellis had 14 in the half, but Dallas only led because it was able to keep everyone other than Drummond off the boards.Dallas was finally able to create some room late in the third quarter, as Parsons keyed a 14-2 run that made it 83-70. With Josh Smith and Singler both on the bench with foul trouble, Parsons was able to take advantage with 15 points in the quarter.I knew this was going to happen ? it was just a matter of time, Parsons said. Im getting used to playing with these guys and they are starting to understand where I like the ball.The Mavericks were still up by 10 at periods end, and boosted the lead to 17 early in the fourth. The Pistons got as close as 105-100 with 2:35 to play, but Parsons and Nowitzki answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to put away the game.We played pretty good defence at Phoenix and at Sacramento, and we won both of those games, Van Gundy said. But thats the best offence in the league, at least according to the numbers, and we needed to pick it up another level. We didnt do that.TIP-INSMavericks: Dallas is 5-1 on the second half of a back-to-back. ... The Mavericks have won six straight against Detroit and 13 of the last 15.Pistons: Fans in the sparse crowd at the Palace got an unwelcome reminder of how the franchise got to this spot, as Mavericks reserve Charlie Villanueva spent much of the halftime break chatting with Smith and Brandon Jennings. Along with Ben Gordon, they make up the four free-agent signings that doomed Joe Dumars tenure as team president.UP NEXTMavericks: Host San Antonio on Saturday.Pistons: Host Toronto on Friday. ' ' '