Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata scored either side of a Steven Nzonzi effort to earn van Gaal’s side a fourth straight victory in the league.

The Dutchman had claimed the 3-0 win over Hull City on Saturday was United’s best performance of the season.

But despite strengthening their place in the top four, van Gaal was far from happy with his side’s overall plan in the first-half.

“I am not happy with the performance. I was not pleased with the first half,” he said.

“We were not so aggressive as in the last match against Hull and we want to play in the same style. I think we don’t keep our positions on the pitch so we don’t create so many chances in the first half. Only the chance from (Ander) Herrera and then we have to finish that of course.

“Okay the goal (from Fellaini) was a very nice goal also, I believe, but the opponents doesn’t do anything. 

“Only defending. In the second half we played much better, keep our positions, more aggressive but then you have to finish it.”

Van Gaal also confirmed that captain Wayne Rooney would be having a scan on the knee that kept him out of the match day squad.  

He said: “It is his knee but we have to wait for tomorrow to say anything about it because you never know with a knee. 

“But my opinion it is not so heavy but I am not a doctor.  We have to wait a scan and then we will know more and hope that it is not so heavy.”

Manchester United went into the game having lost their most recent encounter with Stoke 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium in February.

But it was the home side who took the lead on 21 minutes, Fellaini towering above the Stoke defence to head home an Herrera cross for his first Old Trafford goal of the season.

However, United have only kept two clean sheets in their previous nine games so an equaliser seemed almost inevitable

And the Potters were level six minutes before the break with their only shot of the half, Nzonzi rifling a right-footed shot past David de Gea from 20 yards.

The Reds restored their lead just before the hour mark when Mata’s inswinging free-kick eluded everyone in the penalty box before nestling in the back of the net.

The visitors had a chance to share the spoils in the dying embers of the game through former United man Mame Biram Diouf.

The Senegalese striker was thwarted firstly by de Gea from point-blank range before Ashley Young cleared an effort off the line to condemn Stoke to their third consecutive defeat in the league.