FOOTBALL Live

Friday December 26, 2008 Finished Britannia Stadium

0 - 1

Stoke City

Manchester United

  • Tevez 83’
  1. Tevez saves United at Stoke

    Tevez saves United at Stoke

    A late Carlos Tevez goal spared Manchester United's blushes as they beat 10-man Stoke 1-0 in a fractious encounter at the Britannia Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Stoke City
    • Manchester United
    • 90+4' All over at the Britannia Stadium - United get three points the hard way!
    • 90' Stoke: Pericard and Olofinjana come on for Cresswell and Amdy Faye.
    • 88' Ronaldo has a crack from a free-kick... JUST WIDE!
    • 87' Tempers flare yet again as Gary Neville and Glenn Whelan clash - a yellow card to both players.
    • 85' Stoke look absolutely heartbroken, after resisting so brilliantly for 83 minutes. They are down to 10 men and a comeback looks unlikely.
    • 83' GOAL!!! CARLOS TEVEZ BREAKS THE DEADLOCK AT LAST!!! Dimitar Berbatov volleys the ball across the face of goal and Tevez rams it into the roof of the net from close range!
    • 82' Vidic is penalised and reacts furiously. United need to be careful not to lose their rag.
    • 79' Rooney! Unleashes a shot from the edge of the box but it is straight into the chest of Sorensen.
    • 76' Ronaldo goes for goal from 25 yards out but fires his shot well, well wide.
    • 74' Stoke sacrifice Rory Delap, and on comes Andrew Davies for his debut.
    • 72' Silly tackle from behind by Andy Wilkinson on Cristiano Ronaldo, and that is a second yellow card for the young right-back! Could that be a turning point?
    • 70' In amongst all the excitement, I forgot to say that Dimitar Berbatov has come on for John O'Shea, that change coming in the 64th minute.
    • 69' Ronaldo reacts with a little kick at Shawcross after the Stoke man hauls him down. United are losing their discipline.
    • 67' Stoke go close with a superbly-worked free-kick that finds Delap on the left. Van der Sar denies him but it is another Stoke corner.
    • 64' Scholes plays Tevez in through the middle and he rounds Sorensen.. but the flag is up for offside - wrongly.
    • 61' Wayne Rooney throws an elbow at Abdoulaye Faye (and misses), but referee Chris Foy doesn't see it and the United striker gets away with it. Lucky, lucky boy.
    • 60' Delap flings a long throw from the left and finds the head of Danny Pugh... JUST OVER!!
    • 58' FULLER!! He responds with a similar effort at the other end, and Van der Sar makes a two-handed parry.
    • 57' SCHOLES!!! Lets fly from just outside the box and Sorensen denies him with a superb save, stretching low to his right! What a save.
    • 55' Amdy Faye clips a cross from the right side, but Gary Neville is well positioned and heads behind for a corner.
    • 53' This second half has been all United, but they have not been able to turn their huge possession advantage into goals - or even chances.
    • 50' Tevez sticks his leg out instinctively again as the ball lands to him but sends his effort just wide!
    • 47' Tevez! A speculative shot from the Argentinian foces Sorensen to punch the ball behind for a corner.
    • 46' Second half under way in Stoke - no changes from either side.
    • 45+2' Goalless at the break, and Alex Ferguson looks vexed. And well he might do. No Gamba Osaka, this Stoke bunch.
    • 45+1' Cresswell fires an angled shot from out on the left, but it hits the side netting.
    • 45' Ricardo Fuller is the latest player to be booked. Get your 'Christmas cards' jokes here.
    • 44' Giggs curls another free-kick into the box, and Vidic and O'Shea attempt to bundle it goalwards but Thomas Sorensen catches it on the line.
    • 43' No indecent exposure arrests here. Ronaldo duly has a crack but finds only the middle of the wall.
    • 42' United win a free-kick just outside the box and if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't take a shot I will run naked through the streets of Feltham.
    • 40' Faye and Vidic jostle as they wait for a corner to come in, the referee ticks them off and then they pick up exactly where they left off.
    • 39' Rooney collects a stray defensive header and has only one thing in mind. He fires goalwards but his shot is deflected over.
    • 38' The TV cameras show a couple of chaps who have scaled trees to get a view of the game.
    • 36' Ronaldo finds Scholes who looks for Fletcher on one of his marauding runs. The pass is cut out.
    • 33' Stoke have acquitted themselves pretty well so far, and it would be unfair on the Potters to put United's struggles down to jet lag. It's not like they were stuck in the middle of three economy seats with no leg room and a screaming baby in front of them.
    • 29' Wilkinson chases Ryan Giggs back towards the United goal, then trips him up clumsily and gives referee Foy another chance to brandish his yellow card.
    • 27' Evans is having a nightmare here. He slides through the back of Cresswell and is booked. Earlier Wayne Rooney was tugged over by Wilkinson on the left flank but referee Foy said play on.
    • 26' Gary Neville crosses from the right for Rooney, who guides a superb glancing header goalwards but it is straight at Sorensen!
    • 25' Ricardo Fuller is still over on the touchline putting his boot back on.. the moral - never try to stop sprinting when you are wearing socks.
    • 23' Fuller is released down the left channel. He races into the box but then loses his boot and falls over! A let-off for the visitors.
    • 21' Cresswell challenges Evans in the air and appears to lead with his arm. No malice, but referee Foy brandishes a yellow card.
    • 21' Delap throws long from the right this time... Shawcross gets a slight flick and Van der Sar is down low to save! Stoke are having a real go here.
    • 19' A great roar goes up as Stoke win a throw in Rory Delap range on the left. He flings it into the box but Van der Sar makes another good save.
    • 16' United fail to deal with another high ball - possibly losing the ball in the sun - and Fuller is in again.. Van der Sar rushes out and makes a good save! He then catches the subsequent corner.
    • 13' Stoke win a corner, which Danny Pugh curls in at the near post.. and into the side netting - a waste.
    • 11' If you could choose somebody to make a crucial challenge at the edge of your box, it probably not be Paul Scholes. Nonetheless the Ginger Ninja makes a fine tackle to dispossess Fuller, who got beyond Evans again.
    • 9' Neville's cross from the right finds Tevez, whose volley is deflected wide... should have been a corner but a goal kick is given.
    • 7' Good spell of possession for the visitors. Fletcher finds Rooney at the edge of the box, who plays it down the left for Giggs but the Welshman's cross is deflected into the arms of Sorensen.
    • 5' The Stoke fans are making a heck of a noise. Fuelled up on mulled wine, brandy butter and too many pigs in blankets, they are in fine voice.
    • 3' Giggs delivers and outswinging corner from the United left and VIDIC IS THERE!! The ball glaances wide off the Serbian's head, and he would have fancied his chances from there...
    • 1' Chance for Stoke! Jonny Evans completely misjudges a high ball and misses it, leaving Ricardo Fuller unmarked but his prods his shot over the bar.
    • 1' Game on! Manchester United kick off in their change strip of all blue, with Stoke in red and white. Half the pitch is bathed in sunshine on a glorious winter day.
    • - The newly crowned 'World Champions' make a number of changes. Rio Ferdinand is out after suffering a tweak in the warm-up and Jonny Evans replaces him. Gary Neville, Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Carlos Tevez start, with Rafael Da Silva, Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench. Stoke have young Andy Wilkinson at right-back with former United man Ryan Shawcross shifting to the middle.
    • - Welcome to LIVE coverage of Stoke versus Manchester United from the Britannia Stadium!

  • Team Stats

    Stoke City Stats Manchester United
    25% Possession 74%
    8 Shots 21
    2 Shots on target 5
    2 Saves 1
    6 Corners 9
    7 Fouls 15
    0 Offsides 2
    3 Yellow cards 2
    1 Red cards 0
    16 Tackles 18
    118 Accurate passes 515
    36 Bad passes 81

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Stoke City
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      29 Thomas Sorensen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 0
      3 Danny Higginbotham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 10 1
      28 Andy Wilkinson 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 9 0 3
      14 Danny Pugh 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 12 6 2
      17 Ryan Shawcross 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 0 1
      25 Abdoulaye Faye 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 11 1 1
      19 Amdy Faye 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 15 1 3
      24 Rory Delap 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 3
      6 Glenn Whelan 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 19 5 1
      9 Richard Cresswell 0 2 0 3 3 0 0 12 7 0
      10 Ricardo Fuller 0 2 1 5 0 0 0 11 2 0
      4 Seyi Olofinjana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
      23 Michael Tonge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      1 Steve Simonsen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Andrew Davies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
      15 Vincent Pericard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
      7 Liam Lawrence 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      33 Ibrahima Sonko 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Manchester United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Edwin Van der Sar 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 0 0
      23 Jonny Evans 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 42 5 2
      22 John O'Shea 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 35 15 2
      2 Gary Neville 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 54 1 1
      15 Nemanja Vidic 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 54 2 5
      24 Darren Fletcher 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 69 10 1
      7 Cristiano Ronaldo 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 30 4 1
      11 Ryan Giggs 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 59 23 2
      18 Paul Scholes 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 78 8 2
      32 Carlos Tevez 1 6 2 1 0 1 0 25 5 2
      10 Wayne Rooney 0 5 2 2 0 1 0 36 5 0
      13 Ji-sung Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Dimitar Berbatov 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 14 3 0
      21 Rafael Pereira da Silva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      19 Danny Welbeck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      28 Darron Gibson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      16 Michael Carrick 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0
      29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 88' Ronaldo has a crack from a free-kick... JUST WIDE!
    • 83' GOAL!!! CARLOS TEVEZ BREAKS THE DEADLOCK AT LAST!!! Dimitar Berbatov volleys the ball across the face of goal and Tevez rams it into the roof of the net from close range!
    • 79' Rooney! Unleashes a shot from the edge of the box but it is straight into the chest of Sorensen.
    • 72' Silly tackle from behind by Andy Wilkinson on Cristiano Ronaldo, and that is a second yellow card for the young right-back! Could that be a turning point?
    • 61' Wayne Rooney throws an elbow at Abdoulaye Faye (and misses), but referee Chris Foy doesn't see it and the United striker gets away with it. Lucky, lucky boy.
    • 60' Delap flings a long throw from the left and finds the head of Danny Pugh... JUST OVER!!
    • 58' FULLER!! He responds with a similar effort at the other end, and Van der Sar makes a two-handed parry.
    • 57' SCHOLES!!! Lets fly from just outside the box and Sorensen denies him with a superb save, stretching low to his right! What a save.
    • 47' Tevez! A speculative shot from the Argentinian foces Sorensen to punch the ball behind for a corner.
    • 39' Rooney collects a stray defensive header and has only one thing in mind. He fires goalwards but his shot is deflected over.
    • 26' Gary Neville crosses from the right for Rooney, who guides a superb glancing header goalwards but it is straight at Sorensen!
    • 23' Fuller is released down the left channel. He races into the box but then loses his boot and falls over! A let-off for the visitors.
    • 16' United fail to deal with another high ball - possibly losing the ball in the sun - and Fuller is in again.. Van der Sar rushes out and makes a good save! He then catches the subsequent corner.
    • 3' Giggs delivers and outswinging corner from the United left and VIDIC IS THERE!! The ball glaances wide off the Serbian's head, and he would have fancied his chances from there...
    • 1' Chance for Stoke! Jonny Evans completely misjudges a high ball and misses it, leaving Ricardo Fuller unmarked but his prods his shot over the bar.
    • - Welcome to LIVE coverage of Stoke versus Manchester United from the Britannia Stadium!

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Chris Foy

  • Stoke City

    Manager: Tony Pulis

    Captain: Rory Delap

    Starting line-up

    • T. Sorensen
    • A. Wilkinson Red Card
    • A. Diagne-Faye
    • R. Shawcross
    • D. Higginbotham
    • R. Delap Substitution Out (74′)
    • A. Faye Substitution Out (90′)
    • G. Whelan Yellow Card
    • D. Pugh
    • R. Fuller Yellow Card
    • R. Cresswell Yellow Card Substitution Out (90′)

    Subs

    • S. Simonsen
    • V. Pericard Substitution In90′
    • I. Sonko
    • M. Tonge
    • A. Davies Substitution In74′
    • S. Olofinjana Substitution In90′
    • L. Lawrence

    Injured

    • S. Diao
    • A. Griffin
    • D. Kitson
    • M. Sidibe
    • L. Cort

    Suspended

    None

  • Manchester United

    Manager: Alex Ferguson

    Starting line-up

    • E. van der Sar
    • G. Neville Yellow Card
    • J. Evans Yellow Card
    • N. Vidic
    • J. O'Shea Substitution Out (64′)
    • C. Ronaldo
    • P. Scholes
    • D. Fletcher
    • R. Giggs
    • W. Rooney
    • C. Tevez Goal

    Subs

    • M. Carrick
    • D. Berbatov Substitution In64′
    • T. Kuszczak
    • J. Park
    • D. Gibson
    • D. Welbeck
    • R. Da Silva

    Injured

    • O. Hargreaves
    • W. Brown
    • B. Foster

    Suspended

    • P. Evra