Goals from Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata were enough to cancel out an equalizer from Steven Nzonzi as Manchester United battled their way to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Tuesday night. Let's take a look at five things learned from tonight's match...

1.) United can win when playing poorly again

The mark of great teams is that they can win when playing poorly. And that is what United did tonight. The injury crisis they have been dealing with all season was only worsened tonight without Wayne Rooney and Angel di Maria, but the Reds came together to pick up all three points. With the result tonight, they have now now won four on the bounce and will head to St. Mary's Stadium on Monday for a surprisingly important match against Southampton.

At the start of the season, few would have predicted that a mid-December clash between United and Siants would see both teams in the top four. However, that is exactly how it has panned out. The win tonight takes United to just a point behind Saints in third and Manchester City in second, with those two playing tomorrow. However, Southampton face a trip to the Emirates tomorrow night, and if they drop points a subsequent United win on Monday would take the Reds into the top three.

At this stage of the season, Chelsea look front runners for the title and, with the notable exception of their draw last weekend at Sunderland have looked nearly invincible. It seems that a title charge may be just beyond this team at the moment, but if they can continue to play like this and get all three points in games such as these they will challenge for the second place and make an FA Cup run. As Phil Neville said for American channel NBCSN after the match, these are the sorts of matches that would have been draws or defeats under David Moyes. There is something markedly different about this team, and they might just win something this term.

2.) Ander Herrera looks like he could be the all-action midfielder this team desperately needs

To some extent since the departure of Roy Keane but certainly since Owen Hargreaves' knee troubles, United have been crying out for an all-action central midfielder. They've been in dire need of a player who isn't afraid to go into a tackle to win the ball back, break up the play and also pick out a pass or score a goal.

Ander Herrera was hailed as the player who could do that on transfer deadline day of 2013 before his move fell through, and he has struggled to show it this season. However, on Saturday against Hull and tonight he was fantastic. Herrera was simply all over the pitch, intercepting passes, breaking up the play and willing to leave a foot in on a challenge as well. Then, going forward he was creative and incisive with his passing for the second game in a row.

It is far too soon to judge whether this move will be a long term success-Juan Sebastian Veron is the shining example of that. Yet, fans have the sense that there is something about Herrera. He has struggled for minutes this season, but in these last two matches has been simply superb. He was subbed off today inthe 86th minute to a standing ovation after going in on yet another heavy challenge, a appears well on his way to becoming a fan favorite. Should he stay healthy, Herrera could be just what the doctor has been prescribing for ten years.

3.) Stoke will challenge for Europe

While tonight's loss leaves them languishing in 13th, Stoke City look a very decent side. They have now gone three matches without a win, but a look at what they've done this season tells one heck of a story. They sit nine points out of the European places, but have beaten Manchester City and Tottenham away while nearly emerging from Southampton, Liverpool and Old Trafford with points.

With players like Bojan Krkic, Steven Nzonzi, Mame Biram Diouf and Peter Crouch in their team they will cause any team problems. Given their relative lack of squad depth, it would be a bit of a surprise to see them finish in the top five. However, don't be surprised to see them finish in the top eight and still be challenging for a spot in one of Europe's top tables come April.

4.) Bojan Krkic won't be at Stoke for too long

Krkic has enjoyed one of the most strange and roundabout careers in world football. Although only 24, he has now featured for Barcelona, AS Roma, AC Milan, Ajax and now Stoke. After a rise that was arguably more impressive than Lionel Messi's at La Masia, his development at Barcelona was hampered by being stuck behind the aforementioned Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Villa and Pedro in the pecking order. 

Offleaded to Roma, then Milan, and finally Ajax he always showed massive amounts of promise but never enough to convince the teams to keep him permanently. It is their loss that is Stoke's gain. This season, he has shown boatloads of qaulity while on the ball and his dribbling ability has made for many a Youtube mixtape. He is starting to add terrific crossing ability, and his finishing ability was on display for all to see when he scored against Spurs. He is showing his quality to many a top Premier League club, and it wouldn't be surprising to see one of them come calling quite soon.

5.) Marouane Fellaini is no longer the symbol of an era of failure

For so long, Fellaini was the face was the face of David Moyes' failure. It seems fair still to say that his price tag was inflated, but on the basis of his performances last term it seemed he was a £28 million bust. Fellaini was dreadful last season, and looked a shadow of the player who had taken the Premier League by storm while at Everton. 

This season it has been a far different story. It has been publicized that Fellaini had opportunities to leave during the offseason, notably to Napoli, but a combination of an ankle injury and the player deciding to fight for his place kept the big Belgian in Mancunia. Napoli's loss has been United's gain this season, as Fellaini has been fantastic over the last month. Starting with the draw at West Bromwich Albion when he scored as a substitute, Fellaini has hit a purple patch. For the third time in his last five appearances, he was arguably the man of the match.

His goal tonight took his season and United tally to two, and he is becoming a force to be reckoned with in penalty areas yet again. In a league that demands strong, physical players Fellaini appears to have found his place at Manchester United. That's one more thing United fans can thank David Moyes for.