Stoke vs. Manchester United: 5 Things We Learned at the Britannia Stadium

Stoke City and Manchester United fought out an entertaining draw at the Britannia Stadium in the final game on Saturday evening with a 1-1 draw, just about reflecting the even nature of the game.

Nani's inventiveness and directness led to United's opening goal, as he carved open the Stoke defence with a run infield from the flanks before beating Asmir Begovic with a low shot.

Peter Crouch got the equaliser in the second half with an impressive header past David de Gea for his first league goal for Stoke City, becoming one of the few players to score top flight goals for six different clubs in the process.

The game was littered with incidents and talking points; here are five things the game brought our attention to.

David De Gea Is a Great Shot-Stopper, but Still Uncomfortable with Aerial Balls

United's young Spanish goalkeeper kept his side in front at the break with a string of good saves, the best two of which were a fine tip onto the crossbar from Andy Wilkinson just moments after Nani had opened the scoring, as well as a push past the far post from a Jon Walters shot.

However, aerially he is still a real novice and struggles to deal with any kind of pressure while the ball is in the air.

The goal came from a corner, but de Gea's problem here was more decision making than aerial; he started to come then stopped and went back before being beaten without raising a glove.

A succession of crosses and dead-balls gave him endless problems though, beginning early on when he flapped at a high cross, and continuing throughout the game.

Credit where it is due though, in the final ten minutes when United were coming under pressure he claimed several high balls with authority—though under little pressure from opposing forwards.

Jon Walters Is Good Enough to Play for a Bigger Club Than Stoke City

Energy, enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard and close defenders down and no shortage of confidence in taking on players and getting a shot away.

Jon Walters has come a long way since being moved all over the front line for Ipswich Town, and he is a key player for Stoke City under Tony Pulis, a good foil for the likes of Kenwyne Jones and Peter Crouch.

Stoke fans will argue that with their recent signings and with competing in Europe this season they are well on their way to becoming one of the bigger clubs in the country themselves, and they have a point, but it remains to be seen if they can keep that up for two or even three seasons in a row when combining domestic football with continental.

If not, Jon Walters could sooner rather than later find himself the recipient of admiring glances from scouts of clubs with greater consistency at the top end of English football.

Ryan Giggs Has Still, Still, STILL Got It

Yes, he missed a good chance at the end, but that doesn't change the facts.

At pushing 40 years of age, Ryan Giggs has still got that incredible touch and skill to glide past players and give defenders all sorts of problems.

The long-distance sprinting ability might not be there, but there is still enough left in the turbo-chargers to give Giggs the acceleration over the first few steps to beat his man once that left foot of his has bamboozled his opponent.

Not starting many league games at this stage of the season only points to one thing: When the going gets tough near the business end of the campaign, Ryan Giggs is one of the players Ferguson is going to turn to to guide his team towards titles.

Owen and Berbatov Are Miles Behind United's First Choice Front Three

The pre-game loss of Wayne Rooney and the in-game loss of Chicharito meant that for much of this game, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, arguably United's fourth and fifth choice forwards right now, got a rare run-out in the Premier League.

Neither covered themselves in glory as they dropped deep at the same time, offering no threat to the natural attacking instincts of Ashley Young and Nani out wide, and closing out the midfield in which Anderson tried to orchestrate the play.

Danny Welbeck returned from injury to make a second-half substitute appearance today, and it seems fair to imagine that should one of Rooney and Hernandez not make it back for United's Champions League tie next week, he will start up front.

Which one of these two gets the nod to partner him, should another forward be required, is anyone's guess.

Certainly neither made a case for their inclusion with lacklustre displays today.

No Matter What Happens, Referees and Assistants Will Still Be the Talking Points

An eventful game with plenty of goalmouth action will inevitably be mostly ignored on various highlights programmes around the globe over the weekend in favour of one decision by the referee, Peter Walton, and his assistant when United were denied a penalty.

Whether or not they should have been given one is up for debate—certainly the ball struck Ryan Shawcross' arm, but it was against his body and not seeking to block the ball—but the fact that the assistant not only didn't signal for the penalty but instead gave an offside against Michael Owen will only intensify the media's glare on whether or not alternative measures need to be introduced to make these correct calls.