Hughes: Rooney absence helped Stoke

The Stoke City boss felt Manchester United were weaker without their captain after he was left on the bench on Saturday
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes Manchester United were weaker for dropping captain Wayne Rooney after overseeing the Potters' 2-0 win at the Britannia Stadium.
Rooney - who has struggled for goals this season - was left on the bench and introduced at half-time after Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic had put the game beyond Louis van Gaal's side.
The Dutchman faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford after a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions and Hughes felt the United skipper's first-half absence helped the hosts.

"I'm sure there were reasons why Wayne didn't start the game," Hughes said.

"There's a lot of thinking that goes into which team you pick as a manager and you go with the one that you think will win the game.

"It's a tough period over Christmas, we've got a tough fixture against Everton, United have got Chelsea so you've got to work with your resources.
"Maybe that's the reason he didn't start the game. From our point of view, a team without Wayne Rooney is a team that maybe isn't quite as strong.