There could be no better place for Manchester United's world champions to be brought back down to the terra firma of the Barclays Premier League. This corner of the Potteries, a windswept stadium on a grim industrial park, is about as inhospitable as it gets in English football's top flight these days. Throw in the hostility of the home crowd, the uncompromising nature of Stoke City's tactics and Rory Delap's throw-ins and it is easy to see how the Britannia Stadium could be a proving ground in this season's title race.

Arsenal were beaten into submission here in November and it needed all of United's character to ensure that they did not go the same way. For 83 minutes they were frustrated by a Stoke team who, by the simple virtues of organisation, workrate and endeavour, made the champions look distinctly ordinary. Then, just when United were starting to get desperate, with Sir Alex Ferguson about to replace the ineffective Carlos Tévez with Park Ji Sung, the ball was drilled across the six-yard box by Dimitar Berbatov and diverted into the net by Tévez. Cue wild celebrations in front of the visiting supporters in the South Stand.

It was one of those games - it is one of those grounds - where the away team would have been happy to get out alive, or at very least unblemished. Wayne Rooney, who managed to control himself for much of the game, briefly lost his composure on the hour and swung an arm at Abdoulaye Faye, while Cristiano Ronaldo, unhappy at the number of tackles flying in on him, would surely have been sent off in the 69th minute had Chris Foy seen the petulant kick that he aimed at Andy Wilkinson. Within three minutes, though, Wilkinson flew in on Ronaldo for a second bookable offence, leaving Stoke a man short and offering United an advantage that their efforts had not merited.

The Wilkinson-Ronaldo tussle offered a perfect microcosm of the match. In the blue corner, the precociously talented European Footballer of the Year; in the red-and-white corner, a shaven-headed 24-year-old full back who goes by the nickname of “The Rash”, a Premier League footballer in name only. As the game entered its final quarter, “The Rash” was winning, irritating Ronaldo to such an extent that the United forward was reduced to aiming wild shots into the stands and then a wild kick at Wilkinson.

From the moment that Wilkinson was sent off it seemed only a question of whether there was enough time for United to make the most of the pressure that was mounting on the Stoke goal. Ultimately, through Tévez, they did, but this was an afternoon on which they could have been embarrassed.

Having lost Rio Ferdinand in the warm-up, after the defender aggravated his persistent back problem, the United defence was all at sea during the opening period, fortunate that Ricardo Fuller lost his composure when sent clear after 50 seconds and then, more comically, lost his boot and his footing when bearing down on Edwin van der Sar in the 24th minute. United were also fortunate that, in Van der Sar, they had a goalkeeper with the experience and commanding personality to take responsibility when the ball was hurled into the box by Delap.

It was not only Delap's throw-ins that were causing problems for United. Stoke had a number of players - including three United cast-offs in Ryan Shawcross, Danny Higginbotham and Danny Pugh - who were willing to tackle, harass and do everything they could to disrupt their opponents' rhythm. Paul Scholes, starting a Premier League match for the first time since September 21, was typically unruffled, but others, notably Ronaldo and Tévez, were knocked out of their stride. Only once in the first half, through Tévez's header from a cross by Ryan Giggs, did United even begin to threaten Thomas Sorensen's goal.

United's supporters found amusement in the excitability of the home crowd - “You're only here to see your throw-ins,” they chanted - but they were also growing agitated at the lack of urgency from their own team. The replacement of John O'Shea by Berbatov, with Giggs moving to left back, was an attacking move, but urgency is not Berbatov's forte, either.

It was Rooney, either dropping deep or moving wide, who did most to provide that, although it was also notable that Gary Neville, making a rare start, began to rampage forward from right back in the closing stages, even sending in the cross that Berbatov controlled and drilled towards the far post, where Tévez made the critical intervention.

It was one of those moments that remind you how even a genius such as Ferguson needs a bit of luck sometimes. For the previous two minutes he had been waiting for the ball to go out of play so that he could replace the toiling Tévez. Stoke do not have a plan B, but plan A will continue to cause opponents problems. Next up at the Britannia Stadium? Liverpool. A searching examination of their title credentials awaits.

Stoke City (4-4-1-1)
T Sorensen 7
A Wilkinson 5
R Shawcross 7
Abdoulaye Faye 7
D Higginbotham 7
R Delap 6
G Whelan 6
Amdy Faye 6
D Pugh 6
R Cresswell 5
R Fuller 6
Substitutes
A Davies (for Delap, 74min), S Olofinjana (for Amdy Faye, 90), V Péricard (for Cresswell, 90).
Not used
S Simonsen, I Sonko, L Lawrence, M Tonge.
Referee: C Foy.

Manchester United (4-3-3)
E van der Sar 7
G Neville 6
N Vidic 7
J Evans 5
J O'Shea 5
D Fletcher 6
P Scholes 7
R Giggs 6
C Ronaldo 5
C Tévez 6
W Rooney 6
Substitutes
D Berbatov (for O'Shea, 65 6), M Carrick (for Scholes, 90).
Not used
T Kuszczak, R Da Silva, D Gibson, Park Ji Sung, D Welbeck.
Att: 27,500

Star man: Abdoulaye Faye
Typified Stoke's resilient approach without resorting to spitefulness. Has been back to his best this season and, as captain, has an important part to play in the battle for survival.

Window watch
Tony Pulis eschews flair in favour of industry but some pace and quality would not go amiss for Stoke. They would welcome a prolific goalscorer, either on loan or for a small fee. Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested there will be no new signings for United. Doubts persist about the long-term future of Carlos Tévez, whose two-year loan expires in June.