Carlos Tevez's late goal earned Manchester United a hard-fought 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
Wilkinson dismissal costs Stoke dear
Carlos Tevez's late goal earned Manchester United a hard-fought 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
The Argentine ace struck seven minutes from time to give Sir Alex Ferguson's side all three points to help them close the gap on the leading pack.
Stoke faced an uphill battle from the moment Andy Wilkinson was sent off 18 minutes from time for a second bookable offence for bringing down Cristiano Ronaldo.
United were far from their best upon their return from the Club World Cup in Japan as Stoke pushed them all the way before Tevez's crucial strike.
The visitors were forced to make a late change with Jonny Evans replacing Rio Ferdinand who injured his back in the warm-up, and they struggled to get their game together in the first half.
Bright
Stoke made a bright start and Ricardo Fuller got on the end of a ball from Rory Delap, but Paul Scholes took the ball off his toes as he was about to shoot.
Delap then delivered an inswinging cross after 13 minutes which was deflected to safety by Evans.
United again found themselves on the back foot two minutes later when Delap picked out Fuller but Edwin van der Sar got a vital touch.
Delap then showed he had shrugged off a nagging shoulder injury to launch one of his trademark throw-ins but the goalkeeper was equal to it.
United, however, were beginning to spray the ball around and Wayne Rooney got on the end of a cross from Gary Neville but only succeeded in sending his header into the arms of Thomas Sorensen.
Then Rooney made space following another delivery from Neville and squared the ball across the face of the goal. However, he put too much weight on the pass and it skidded away from Carlos Tevez, who was lurking in the six-yard area.
Abdoulaye Faye was then penalised for a challenge on Scholes 20 yards out. There was a buzz of anticipation among the United fans as Cristiano Ronaldo shaped to take the free-kick, but he only succeeded in sending his effort into the wall.
Ronaldo protested that there was an infringement but referee Chris Foy would have none of it.
Stoke then conceded another free-kick in a dangerous area and Giggs floated the ball in. Nemanja Vidic escaped his marker but sent his header into Sorensen's arms.
Alert
United pushed forward at the start of the second half and Tevez cut inside but Sorensen turned his effort around the post after 47 minutes.
A mix-up in the Stoke defence three minutes later saw the ball land at the feet of Tevez, however the striker seemed startled at being given a chance and steered his effort wide.
Sorensen again had to look alert in the 57th minute following a 25-yard snap shot from Scholes. However, play broke down the other end and Van der Sar did well to parry a thunderbolt from Fuller a minute later.
Glenn Whelan swung in the corner and Danny Pugh peeled away from his marker but headed over the top.
Stoke were continuing to ask questions of the visitors and Van der Sar parried Delap's close-range effort, which was possibly intended as a cut-back for a team-mate, after a clever free-kick in the 68th minute.
Stoke were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute when Wilkinson was dismissed following his second yellow-card offence, a heavy challenge on Ronaldo.
Manager Tony Pulis responded by taking off Delap and bringing on central defender Andrew Davies, but Stoke could not cling on and United grabbed the winner in the 83rd minute through the industrious Tevez.
Neville started the move and delivered the ball into the area where Dimitar Berbatov controlled it with ease. He played it on to Tevez, who scored only his second league goal of the campaign, at the back post.
| Stoke City |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
9 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
7 |
| 6 |
Corners |
9 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 58.4 |
Passing Success |
87.1 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
17 |
| 62.5 |
Tackles Success |
70.6 |
| 25.5 |
Possession |
74.5 |
| 48.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.6 |
|
