( CNN ) -- Bad luck , or just another step in Manchester United 's fall from dominance ? The club 's share price may have recovered a little since last month 's $ 61 million marquee signing of Juan Mata from Chelsea , but qualification for the lucrative European Champions League is looking further away than ever for beleaguered manager David Moyes . Mata helped United win on his debut against lowly Cardiff in midweek , but the Spaniard could not stop his new team crashing to a 2-1 defeat at unfancied Stoke . It means fourth-placed Liverpool can move nine points clear of United in the Premier League on Sunday with a win at struggling West Brom . Table-topping Manchester City , meanwhile , will go 16 points ahead of United with victory over second-placed Chelsea on Monday . Moyes has had a tough time since replacing Alex Ferguson , the most successful manager in the history of English football , and he was left bemoaning his fortunes after losing two players to injury and conceding a wickedly-deflected free-kick . However , while Charlie Adam 's first goal may have been fortuitous , his second -- which made Robin van Persie 's equalizer redundant -- was a moment of magic as the Scottish midfielder smashed in a 25-yard thunderbolt . It was United 's eighth league defeat in 24 matches , compared to just five in 38 in Ferguson 's championship-winning farewell . This is the club 's worst run in the top flight since the 1989-90 season . `` We played well today , '' a defiant Moyes told MUTV . `` We 're definitely not getting a lot of good fortune going our way , but we 've got ourselves to blame for the opportunities we missed . `` I think the free-kick summed it up . That went in after we 'd controlled the majority of the game . I think it was going wide , but it took a wicked deflection and went in . That 's when you know that your luck is n't in . It 's just not going for us . `` It was a difficult day , the conditions were tough . We had opportunities to get at least a draw and they scored a world-class second goal which was hard to defend against . '' While United 's attack has been bolstered by the arrival of Mata and the return from injury of last season 's top scorer Van Persie and England striker Wayne Rooney , Moyes ' defensive options are looking thinner after Phil Jones was stretchered off before halftime and fellow center-back Jonny Evans suffered a calf injury . `` Phil is okay . He was unconscious for a period during the game , but he 's had a head scan and the hospital has checked him and there were no problems , '' Moyes said . It was Stoke 's first league win against United since 1984 , when manager Mark Hughes was a 20-year-old striker playing for the Manchester side . His team leaped out of the bottom three up to 11th in the table after winning just its sixth game . `` That tells you how crazy the league is at the moment , '' said Hughes , whose side are just six points above bottom club Fulham . Moyes ' former team Everton , meanwhile , moved up to fifth place -- which would secure a spot in the second-tier Europa League next season -- with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa . Belgium forward Kevin Mirallas fired in a superb 85th-minute free-kick as Everton bounced back from last week 's 4-0 drubbing by Merseyside rivals Liverpool , with substitute Steven Naismith equalizing Leandro Bacuna 's first-half opener for the 10th-placed visitors . Tottenham , beaten 5-1 by Manchester City in midweek , dropped to sixth after being held 1-1 at Hull . Brazil midfielder Paulinho , returning after a month sidelined by injury , canceled out new signing Shane Long 's opener for the home side . Newcastle failed to join seventh-placed Manchester United on 40 points after losing 3-0 at home to northeast rivals Sunderland , who completed a derby double and continued a resurgence under manager Gus Poyet by moving up to 14th . Southampton consolidated ninth place with a 3-0 win at Fulham , who dropped to the foot of the table despite fielding two new loan signings , Denmark midfielder William Kvist and Tottenham 's Germany international Lewis Holtby . West Ham 's relegation battle was boosted by a 2-0 win at Swansea that left the London team third from bottom , but star striker Andy Carroll was sent off after setting up both goals for Kevin Nolan . Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solkskjaer enjoyed his first win in charge of Cardiff , beating Norwich 2-1 , but the Welsh club was still left second from bottom .
David Moyes suffers eight defeat in 24 league matches in charge of Stoke . 1984 's eight -1 loss to Stoke was United 's first in the league to that team since 1984 . Manager Moyes blames bad luck and poor finishing in front of goal . Reverse means Manchester United may fall nine points behind first place by end of weekend .