MANCHESTER - A spirited Stoke City performance denied Manchester United as Joe Allen pounced late to score for the second consecutive week and secure a 1-1 Premier League draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.
United thought they had done enough to win when substitute Anthony Martial put them ahead on 69 minutes, two minutes after coming off the bench, with a curling shot from the edge of the area that beat Stoke's excellent keeper Lee Grant.
But Allen, who should have scored earlier, was on hand after David De Gea fumbled a Glen Johnson effort and Jonathan Walters' shot came back off the bar.
Although Paul Pogba hit the bar late on, the result was no more than the visitors deserved after denying United with a backs-to-the-wall showing that belied their lowly status in the table.