Hernandez is the hero as Manchester United finally win away

All the talk over the last week has been about Wayne Rooney but with the England striker out injured, it was Javier Hernandez who stole the headlines for Manchester United at the Britannia Stadium by scoring both goals in a 2-1 win.

It was the Red Devils’ first away victory in the Premier League this season at the fifth attempt and keeps them five points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of home games against Tottenham and Wolves and saw their pre-match title odds of 5/1 shorten slightly to 9/2.

The story of the last few months threatened to repeat itself for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side’s when Stoke substitute Tuncay scored a stunning equaliser nine minutes from time but Javier Hernandez was on hand to seal a deserved triumph for the visitors in the 86th minute.

Whereas you would expect three points against Stoke to be considered routine for Manchester United, given that they’d won their four previous meetings without conceding, there was a mini pitch invasion after the late winner and Ferguson was ecstatic, clearly believing that this long-awaited away success marked the start of their title challenge at last.

Stoke have less reason for optimism as they head into a daunting away double header against Everton and Sunderland just a point above the relegation zone after Liverpool beat Blackburn 2-1.

The Potters were a lengthy 7/1 to go down. See the full Barclays Premier League football betting odds market here.