Manchester United vs. Stoke City: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League

Joe Allen capitalised on a late mistake from David De Gea to earn Stoke City a 1-1 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

United were frustrated by Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant in the first period, as he saved twice from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the second minute of the match. The stopper was finally bested in the 69th minute by substitute Anthony Martial's swerving strike before Allen pounced seven minutes from time to equalise.

With the Potters struggling and United revitalised, the home side was expected to come out firing. And the opening minutes set the tempo for the entire game.

After being slipped through by Paul Pogba, Ibrahimovic had time and space to pick his spot. But Grant anticipated the veteran’s near-post finish before springing up to stop the striker tucking home the rebound.

A player of Ibrahimovic’s quality should have scored; as noted by James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph, he seemed to overcomplicate the finish:

United continued to pile forward for almost the entirety of the half after that early opportunity, with Pogba spurning an excellent chance when played in on the edge of the box. The Frenchman swept his effort well wide of the target.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The movement of Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford and particularly Jesse Lingard left the Potters defenders chasing shadows. But Grant was proving to be quite the foe between the sticks, palming a Juan Mata chip over the bar and then springing into action to deny Lingard from close range.

As noted by Oliver Kay of the Times, given his relative inexperience at this level, Grant was turning in quite the performance for the visitors:

Stoke, by contrast, were feeding off scraps. However, they did conjure one clear opening in the 15th minute, with Geoff Cameron shooting tamely at De Gea after brilliant work from Xherdan Shaqiri.

Nevertheless, United would have been miffed not to have gone in ahead at half-time after so much neat play. Squawka Football summed up what was a lopsided contest:

United continued to apply pressure after the restart, although the game could have so easily changed in the 55th minute, when Ander Herrera left his mark on Allen in a very literal sense.

The midfielder lunged at the Welshman, implanting his studs into the City player’s inner thigh. However, referee Robert Madley brandished a yellow card rather than a red. Stoke boss Mark Hughes was far from happy.

Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho wasn't pleased, either, and after 67 minutes, he summoned Martial and Wayne Rooney from the bench, with Lingard and Mata withdrawn. It didn't take the former long to make an impact.

SCOTT HEPPELL/Getty Images

After an exchange with Rooney, the ball dropped to Martial in the box, and he whipped a splendid strike into the corner, with the excellent Grant finally beaten.

As noted by Bleacher Report UK, Mourinho would have been pretty pleased with the impact of the two subs:

The goal emboldened the hosts, who suddenly seemed to have an extra yard to work in in the final third. Indeed, Grant again did well to prevent Ibrahimovic from getting on the scoresheet.

Stoke looked to be on the ropes as the game entered the final stages, although with just one goal in it, there was a nervousness at Old Trafford as the Red Devils failed to kill the game off. It proved to be warranted, with the Potters getting back on level terms with seven minutes remaining.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

De Gea should have done much better with a Glen Johnson shot, spilling the ball back into the danger area. Jonathan Walters latched on to the loose ball, and while his effort smashed off the bar, the onrushing Allen poked home into the unguarded net.

Per WhoScored.com, the Welshman is in excellent goalscoring form:

United did try to raise themselves in the final minutes, and Pogba saw a header from six yards out somehow crash off the crossbar with the clock ticking down. However, Stoke clung on for an important point in their efforts to pull clear of the bottom three.

With a two-week break for international fixtures, Mourinho and his players will have a long time to stew over this result. The Red Devils had so many opportunities to win this one; their profligacy and lack of defensive focus will grate on the Portuguese coach, who still has a lot of work to do to turn United into title challengers.

Post-Match Reaction

Afterward, Mourinho hailed the overall performance put in by his players. "This is the best performance all season and could have been one of these fat results in the Premier League," he said, per BBC Sport. "It could have been 5-0 or 6-0. We had big chances, with amazing saves and big misses."

Per Bleacher Report's Paul Ansorge, Hughes thought the visitors were worth a point:

"

'Good point for us, before the game I don't think too many thought we had the capacity to get a good result' @br_uk pic.twitter.com/lzBZKGK8eT

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) October 2, 2016"

"

Hughes says he thinks it was the least Stoke deserved.

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) October 2, 2016"

Meanwhile, Allen hailed the battling spirit of the Stoke players. "We haven't been picking up many points, but you can't fault the effort," the midfielder said, per BBC Sport. "We were determined to come here and get at least a point. We did threaten at times, which is a good sign for the weeks to come."