MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United relied on a fortunate winning goal from Juan Mata and a breathtaking double save from David de Gea in injury time to beat Stoke 2-1 and secure a fourth straight Premier League victory on Tuesday.Comfortable but never convincing at Old Trafford, United ended up scrambling to the three points that kept the team in the top four and maintained its revival under new manager Louis van Gaal.Matas winner in the 59th minute had a slice of fortune about it, with the Spain playmakers inswinging free kick from the right curling over the heads of a number of players in the box and bouncing into the far corner.However, it needed two superb saves from De Gea and a goal-line clearance from Ashley Young — all in the final two minutes of injury time — to prevent Stoke from checking Uniteds momentum.I am not happy with the performance, Van Gaal said. Maybe we forced the luck and that is also because of the fighting spirit.Without the injured pair of Wayne Rooney and Angel Di Maria, United lacked creativity and took a 21st-minute lead through a direct route when Marouane Fellaini scored a towering, far-post header.Steven Nzonzi equalized in the 39th for Stoke with a powerful shot from the edge of the area and failed to genuinely test United until a frantic, final few minutes.The episodes at the end were unbelievable, said Stoke manager Mark Hughes, who spent 13 years at United as a player across two spells.United has been looking to restore the fear factor at Old Trafford — but its makeshift team was far from intimidating without Rooney and Di Maria, and a defence containing wingers Young and Antonio Valencia as full backs.In the end, two high balls into the box — crosses that Stokes physically imposing teams down the years were masters at dealing with — were the downfall of the hard-working but limited visitors.Fellaini nipped in front of left back Erik Pieters to meet a hanging cross to the far post by Ander Herrera with a downward header into the centre of the goal. Stoke should have been behind by then, with Herrera blasting a shot over the bar after Robin van Persie had intercepted a weak clearance by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.Nzonzi scored with Stokes only shot on goal in the first half but United restored its lead just before the hour mark when Mata swung in a cross that narrowly eluded leaping United defender Marcos Rojo, who initially claimed the goal, and dropped into the far corner.Fit-again Colombia striker Radamel Falcao came on for the final 12 minutes for United to replace 19-year-old James Wilson, who came in for Rooney.But it was Stoke which finished the stronger, with Mame Biram Diouf seeing a header brilliantly parried out by De Gea and then having his goalbound shot cleared off the line by Young.Im happy with the result, Van Gaal said, tomorrow we have a Christmas party and its important we can enjoy that. New Orleans Saint Jerseys China . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Custom Saint Jerseys . The third-ranked Lewis, a three-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, had a 9-under 135 total at Emirates Golf Course in the Ladies European Tours season-ending tournament. http://www.cheapsaints.com/. Osasunas Alvaro Cejudo drove the ball onto the crossbar in the fifth minute and his team squandered several long-range strikes before he was denied one-on-one by goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez in the 50th. Authentic New Orleans Saint Jerseys . Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. Cheap New Orleans Saint Gear . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City.Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal hailed Marcus Rashford as a real striker after his derby winner against Manchester City on Sunday. The 18-year-old scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute, coolly finishing after skipping away from Martin Demichelis.The goal was Rashfords fifth since he was handed a starting role in the Europa League eight games ago. He is a real striker and thats why I let him stay in that position because he can make goals, Van Gaal told Sky Sports.But he is also an attacking point and runs the channels. I like him very much. But he is 18 years old so we have to wait and see how consistent he is. Marcus Rashford celebrates his opening goal Asked in his post-match press conference whether Rashford could earn a call-up for England in the near future, Van Gaal said: I dont want to interfere. We dont have to exaggerate either. He is young, he is good, otherwise I question why I let him stay in the team.The win comes just a few days after Uniteds Europa League participation ended with a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Liverpool.But while Jurgen Klopps side followed up the result with a 3-2 defeat to Southampton, having led 2-0 at half-time, United managed to recover from the setback and earn three potentially vital league points.I am very happy, said Van Gaal. We played a very good first half. In the second half we had the chances to score the second, but then we fought to the end to survive because a lot of players had cramp. Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness said Louis van Gaal deserves credit after sticking with his young side against Man City Thats logical, I think, when you play on Thursday.dddddddddddd. You have seen what Liverpool did; in the first half they scored two at Southampton and in the second half it was 3-2.Thats only because they were not recovered. Otherwise you cant lose 3-2.I think [Uniteds performance] was fantastic. We have done it also against Arsenal after playing on Thursday and we have beaten also Manchester City, so I am very happy because its not easy to win here.The victory sees United move just a point behind City with eight games of the season remaining.It was fantastic to see the dressing room and we will fight every match, of course, said Van Gaal. Now we have a big result. It was a long time ago that Manchester United won here, so for the fans it is again fantastic that we have won. Also See: Man City 0-1 Man Utd As it happened Man Utd fixtures Get a £10 free bet! 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