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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2014 53 FOOTBALL Adam brace sinks Man United CHARLIE Adam scored either side of half-time as Stoke claimed their first ever Barclays Premier League win over Manchester United. Adam put the hosts in front with a def lected effort, then smashed home an excellent second to set- tle the 2-1 victory after Robin van Persie had levelled straight after the break. It was the first time United had tasted defeat at the Britannia Sta- dium too, their eighth reverse of the campaign dealing a savage blow to their hopes of securing a Champions League berth for next season. Earlier on Saturday, Alan Pardew was left alone to face a furious backlash as Newcastle succumbed to another humbling derby defeat by Sunderland. Fans incensed by the club's deci- sion to sell Yohan Cabaye and not replace him vented their anger on Pardew as the Black Cats cruised to a second successive 3-0 victory at St James' Park. Sunderland's third derby victory on the trot was secured by first- half goals from Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson, who struck for the seventh time in as many games, and Jack Colback's late strike. Late goals from Steven Naismith and Kevin Mirallas helped Everton bounce back from their Merseyside derby drubbing by Liverpool with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Goodison Park. Leandro Bacuna gave Villa a shock lead but Everton ramped up the pressure in the second half and got their reward when Naismith struck 16 minutes from time. Cardiff 's new boys made an in- stant impact as Wilfried Zaha and Kenwyne Jones enjoyed dream de- buts in a 2-1 win over Norwich. The Bluebirds had trailed when Robert Snodgrass gave Norwich the lead in just the fifth minute at Cardiff City Stadium. But substitute Zaha teed up Craig Bellamy for the equaliser just after the break, with Jones firing home the winner at the second attempt just over a minute later. Andy Carroll twice set up goals for Kevin Nolan before being sent off as 10-man West Ham beat Swansea to ease their relegation predicament. The England striker twice pro- vided cushioned headers for No- lan to score in a 2-0 win at Upton Park but later received a straight red card for an altercation with Chico Flores. West Ham have im- mediately appealed against the dismissal. Shane Long's first goal for Hull saw them claim their first point of the year from a 1-1 draw which ended Tottenham boss Tim Sher- wood's perfect away record in the league. Former West Brom striker Long put the Tigers ahead 12 minutes into his home debut but Paulino's powerful 61st-minute strike drew Spurs level and salvaged a share of the spoils. Elsewhere, the renewed optimism brought by Fulham's late f lurry of transfer activity quickly evapo- rated as Southampton became the eighth side to take three points at Craven Cottage this season. Goals from Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert - who scored his 100th league goal for Saints - and Jay Rodriguez ruthlessly exposed Ful- ham's soft underbelly and clinched a comfortable 3-0 away win. Recent arrivals Lewis Holtby and William Kvist started for the Cot- tagers but were unable to stop their new club slipping to the bottom of the Premier League table. Charlie Adam's fi rst goal took a defl ection on its way in Milan held in Torino draw AC Milan dropped their first points under Clarence Seedorf as high-f lying Torino came away from the San Siro with a 1-1 draw, yesterday evening. Ciro Immobile gave the visitors the lead in the 17th minute, but an Adil Rami strike early in the second half earned the Rossoneri a point. Milan put Torino under pressure for much of the second half, but failed to find a winning goal, leav- ing Seedorf with only a point after two wins in his first two Serie A games in charge. Udinese ended a run of four suc- cessive Serie A defeats with a 2-0 win at Bologna that will ease their relegation fears. Udinese have finished fifth, third and fourth in the last three sea- sons but they have recently found themselves battling at the wrong end of the table after failing to take point from their first four matches of 2014. However, they brought that mis- erable run to a close on Saturday after goals from Antonio Di Natale and Nicolas Lopez earned them a three-point haul from their trip to fellow strugglers Bologna. Mauricio Pinilla earned Cagliari their first Serie A victory in seven attempts as his first-half penalty settled a 1-0 home victory over an uninspiring Fiorentina side at the Stadio Sant'Elia. It was difficult to tell which club was challenging for a top-three spot and which one was battling to avoid a relegation battle as Cagliari tormented Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto for over an hour in Sardinia. Pinilla scored a penalty shortly before half-time to lift Cagliari into 13th place while Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina could now see Inter Milan close to within five points of taking fourth place with victory at Juventus tonight. AC Milan manager Clarence Seedorf reacts during the 1-1 draw