Stoke vs. Manchester United: Player Ratings for Sir Alex Ferguson's Team

Manchester United climbed back to the top of the Premier League table this evening with a difficult point earned away to Stoke City after a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium.

Nani got United off to a good start as he opened the scoring in the first half, but Peter Crouch pegged United back with Stoke's equaliser.

United boss Alex Ferguson suffered a blow before the game with the news that Wayne Rooney would miss out with a hamstring strain, while defender Jonny Evans, due to start as centre-back with Rio Ferdinand, picked up a knock in the warmup, resulting in Antonio Valencia coming in at right-back and Phil Jones shifting into the centre.

The Red Devils' problems worsened soon after the start of the game as Javier Hernandez had to be replaced inside the first 10 minutes by Michael Owen with a dead leg.

Ryan Giggs and Danny Welbeck, returning from injury, also came on as subs for the away side in the second half as they sought to shift the tie back in their favour. In the end, a draw was a fair result after either side had chances to win it.

Here are the ratings for each Manchester United player on the day.

Goalkeeper: David De Gea, 8

David de Gea had a dodgy start to the game, flapping at a few corners, but he made two magnificent stops in the first half to keep his team ahead.

Just after United went 1-0 up, Andy Wilkinson's fierce effort, headed for the top corner, had to be tipped onto the crossbar, while Jon Walters' low effort needed a smart low save from de Gea to prevent an equaliser.

Perhaps questionable decision making for the Crouch goal that Stoke eventually scored, but de Gea will benefit from coming up against one of the biggest sides in the Premier League.

After initially being targeted at set pieces, he got his own back by claiming a foul from a set piece and falling to the ground as though pushed, whereas really he had just walked into the Stoke forward men.

A good performance all in all, and he will look back on his first experience of Stoke with pride.

Right-Back: Antonio Valencia, 6

Called into the starting lineup at short notice after Jonny Evans was injured in the warm up, Valencia never really got into the game in an attacking sense.

Stoke always like to attack with their wingers, so Matty Etherington was always likely to test Valencia, and he was pushed to the limits of his defensive abilities at times.

He kept things simple for the most part and was never caught hugely out of position at any point in the game.

Left-Back: Patrice Evra, 7

Evra got forward well down United's left and looked to overlap Ashley Young at every opportunity.

He did get to do a lot of defending as well, as Jermaine Pennant was a regular outlet for Stoke. All in all, he kept the winger quiet and the few crosses which got past him were generally cleared up.

Another solid and professional performance as usual from Patrice Evra.

Centre-Back: Rio Ferdinand, 6

Ferdinand struggled at times on his return to the team with the aerial threat of Peter Crouch, but he was calm in possession and organised his defence well in the face of some serious pressure from Stoke.

He was slightly caught at times with balls over the top and was lucky not to escape red-faced when he missed a cross which Crouch controlled, but the volley missed the target.

Ferdinand is really coming under pressure for his place at United in the face of Jones and Smalling. He'll need to play better than this to keep his place in the future.

Centre-Back: Phil Jones, 8

Another masterclass from Phil Jones. In defence, he is powerful and rugged and unafraid of challenges, if a little exuberant at times, while on the ball he is a fearless bombardier capable of taking the entire opposition's midfield out of the game with a sudden change of pace.

He had his hands full with Peter Crouch, but usually he did enough to put off the big striker.

Jones is a real talent and a first-choice defender for club and country for many years to come.

Right Midfield: Nani, 8

Nani was United's best attacking outlet by far today.

His goal was very well taken and came at a time when United were struggling to make an impression on the Stoke backline.

A trademark surging run infield from the flank took him beyond several challenges and another unerring finish earned his team a point in the end.

He faded out of the game later on and was more or less ineffective as the game wound down, but still, the biggest threat for Ferguson occurred today when neither Hernandez nor Rooney could be on the pitch.

Centre Midfield: Luis Anderson, 7

Anderson worked hard in the middle and was incisive in his passing. The more creative out of the midfield pairing today, he looked to make the best use of space and loves to play give-and-goes.

He couldn't find any space behind Stoke's deep defensive line, partly because there were no willing runners, but this was another quietly impressive performance from a man whose United career was ridiculously claimed to be over as of a year ago.

Centre Midfield: Darren Fletcher, 6

Fletcher was a more reserved presence in the middle of the park today, giving the ball simply to his teammates and stopping Glenn Whelan's move forward in search of knock-downs and second balls.

Rarely will the Scot let his team down and though he was a peripheral figure in the attack, he gives others the freedom to get forward quickly.

Left Midfield: Ashley Young, 6

Possibly his quietest game so far in a United shirt, Stoke did a good job of containing Ashley Young.

He sent over a few crosses but never really looked threatening when coming inside on his favoured right foot.

Stoke's defence was probably too deep for him to be at his most dangerous; there was very little space for him to work his pace on and a crowded edge of the penalty area meant he often ran into blind alleys. He was replaced in the second half.

Forward: Dimitar Berbatov, 5

A very poor showing from the Bulgarian.

If he was trying to win a starting spot back then this performance probably wasn't the way to go about it.

Berbatov naturally drops deep to search for the ball, but often today he was in line with Darren Fletcher trying to gain possession—which is fine in itself, but then Berbatov was unable to find a telling pass or catch back up with the attacking play afterwards.

He and Owen play too deep to be effective together and there was no real intention on Berbatov's part to do anything differently.

Disappointing.

Forward: Javier Hernandez

No rating will be assigned for Hernandez, who was on the field for fewer than 10 minutes before suffering another injury.

A bright early run ended in a dead leg after a nudge over the on-coming goalkeeper by Jonathan Woodgate, who might be considered fortunate not to have been penalised.

United missed his thrusting presence beyond the back line of the opposition.

Substitutes

Michael Owen, for Hernandez: 4

Owen didn't start the game but he played 80-plus minutes, so he had more than enough time to make an impact. However, he made none, and never came close to showing the kind of finish that saw him grab two goals against Leeds in the League Cup.

He dropped too deep, never stretched the Stoke defence, and was second best to loose balls. Maybe two games in a week is too much for him after such a long time bench-warming.

Ryan Giggs, for Young: 6

Spells of brilliance from Giggs in taking on his man were ended when too few options presented themselves for a cross or pass. He played over 20 minutes and injected fresh impetus in United's attack but couldn't find the telling ball. He had a great chance to win the game late on but flashed his shot wide from close range.

Danny Welbeck, for Berbatov: 5

Welbeck was only just returning from injury and didn't really get a chance to run at goal or get in behind the Stoke defence. He found it difficult to get into the game and did not manage to have an impact.