Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes Manchester United were weaker for dropping captain Wayne Rooney after masterminding Saturday's 2-0 win at the Britannia Stadium.
Rooney has come in for criticism this term due to mixed form and was introduced off the bench at half-time after Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic had put the game beyond Louis van Gaal's side.
The Dutchman faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford after a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions and Hughes felt the United skipper's first-half absence helped the hosts.
"I'm sure there were reasons why Wayne didn't start the game," Hughes said.
"There's a lot of thinking that goes into which team you pick as a manager and you go with the one that you think will win the game.
"It's a tough period over Christmas, we've got a tough fixture against Everton, United have got Chelsea so you've got to work with your resources.
"Maybe that's the reason he didn't start the game. From our point of view, a team without Wayne Rooney is a team that maybe isn't quite as strong.
"But maybe he wasn't fit enough to start."
"Certainly in the first half I thought we were excellent, it would have taken a very good team to stay with us," he added.
"The second half was a different game from our point of view because you expect a reaction and to a certain extent that's what we got.
"They had more possession and were a bit dynamic so we had to be more resolute but I thought we remained a threat on the break.
"We had good opportunities and should have scored more really. All in all, it was a very good professional performance."
