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. Tyler Seguin Stars Jersey . Yet now its time for the most important pick of them all; the Grey Cup. The thought of going 5-0 with the correct choice is quite intoxicating, I dont think I have ever gone perfect in my CFL futuristic playoff speculations and would take great pride in guessing - I mean analyzing - correctly. 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The Astana team leader nicknamed "The Shark" for his road savvy took the final lead in a cycling dance of sorts with other title hopefuls, who took turns in front in the last stretch through a sea of fans from York to Sheffield. Nibali perhaps had more at stake: The 29-year-old rider has won the Italian Giro and Spains Vuelta, but has never captured cyclings showcase event. The victory on Sunday gave him both his first Tour stage win and yellow jersey, and sent a message that he could contend to take it home from Paris in three weeks. With less than two kilometres left, Nibali escaped a 21-man breakaway bunch at the end of the 201-kilometre course over nine heath-covered hills of Yorkshire, and held off their late surge. England is hosting the first three Tour stages this year. GERMAN LOSES YELLOW JERSEY Marcel Kittel, a powerful German sprinter who often struggles on climbs, trailed nearly 20 minutes back and lost the yellow jersey that he had captured by winning Stage 1. While the Italian won the fight to the line, under the shadow of a black Sheffield Forgemasters tower, defending champion Chris Froome of Britain and two-time winner Alberto Contador of Spain are focusing more on the overall race -- which ends July 27 on Paris Champs-Elysees. Overall, Nibali leads 20 other riders by two seconds, including Froome in fifth place and Contador in eighth. A six-man breakaway bunch tried its chances early, but got swallowed up by the pack with less than 40 kilometres left. Then, the big race stars moved to the front, splitting the pack. Contador, Froome, and Americans Andrew Talansky and Tejay van Garderen all spent time at the front. At times, they mustered bursts of speed or zipped across with width of the road in tactical manoeuvrs. "In the finale, a lot of contenders were making moves: Nibali ended up taking two seconds on us," Froome said. "Its not a big margin. For me, it was about staying out of trouble to stay at the front, and avoiding any major issues or splits. "Im tired, but I hope everyones tired after a day like today." TIME TO WORK, ASTANA Dave Brailsford,, boss of Froomes Team Sky, said the leaders actually "were all hesitant, because nobody wanted the jersey.dddddddddddd" In the cycling playbook, the yellow shirt brings both glory and responsibility. Brailsford said: "Astana will have to now defend it, which is pretty good for anybody else. "Perfect. Theyve got to work." Nibali didnt dare claim he might keep it all the way to Paris, saying "the Tour de France doesnt stop here: We have three weeks to go, and very tough and tricky stages lie ahead." Mondays stage should be a far less grueling ride: Riders cover 155 kilometres from Cambridge to London, where the pack will finish on the Mall not far from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. CROWDS FOR A CLASSIC STAGE The course Sunday resembled that of historic one-day races known as "classics," which often feature hilly terrain. Michael Rodgers, an Australian on Contadors Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, called it "a bit of a special stage, like the Amstel Gold Race, but with 20 times the people." New roads for cyclings greatest race also mean new audiences, some of whom are so enthusiastic and eager for a selfie with the pack that they might not realize the hazards of getting too close to the riders as they go by. Untold thousands turned out just hours after one of the biggest British stars in the race, Mark Cavendish, dropped out because of pain from a separated right shoulder sustained in a crash Saturday. "There are thousands and thousands of people. Its great but its also dangerous," Contador said. Race officials say millions of fans have flooded the course route in just the first two stages. While Yorkshire doesnt have ascents on a par with the Alps or Pyrenees in France, riders faced nine low- to mid-grade climbs. The hardest was the Holme Moss pass. The steepest was also the shortest: The 800-meter Jenkin Road pass had an average gradient of 10.8 per cent. Several riders crashed. Simon Gerrans, who went down with Cavendish in Saturdays stage, also spilled -- as did van Garderen and Joachim Rodriguez, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Tour. All recovered to finish the stage. On the up-and-down, picturesque course, the 197-rider peloton scaled a narrow, cobblestone hill in Haworth, where the Bronte sisters -- the famed 19th-century novelists -- lived when their father was parson in the town. ' ' '