Premier League
StokeStoke City1Man UtdManchester United1

Stoke City 1-1 Manchester United

By Stephan ShemiltBBC Sport
Wayne Rooney goal
Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score United's late equaliser

Wayne Rooney became Manchester United's all-time leading goalscorer with a sensational stoppage-time free-kick that rescued a point at Stoke.

Substitute Rooney curled in from the left-hand corner of the penalty box for his 250th United goal, one more than Sir Bobby Charlton.

Stoke looked set for a third straight Premier League win, clinging to a lead given to them when Juan Mata poked Erik Pieters' cross into his own net.

United wasted chances, hit the woodwork and were denied by Potters keeper Lee Grant.

But their 25th and final effort at goal preserved a 17-game unbeaten run, albeit if the dropped points mean they lose ground in the race for the top four.

They are three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and 11 off leaders Chelsea, who both play on Sunday.

Rooney times moment of history

Rooney celebrates
Rooney's 250th United goal was only his second in the league this season

Rooney, so often the fulcrum of the United side since joining from Everton as an 18-year-old in 2004, has had to make do with a bit-part role under Jose Mourinho this season.

Indeed, this 546th appearance came from the bench, but still delivered a moment of history.

United had been frustrated for so long by Stoke's stoic defence and their own wastefulness, and a free-kick awarded just outside the home penalty area looked to be the visitors' last chance as five minutes of added time ticked down.

Rooney, largely ineffective since joining the action, looked prime to cross, but instead arced a wonderful, dipping, right-footed shot inside the far post past the previously unbeatable Grant.

The 31-year-old, who surpassed Charlton's England scoring record in 2015, beat the club mark that had stood since 1973 and gave United a point that looked to have gone.

'Wayne becomes a legend' - what they said

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney: "It means a hell of a lot. It is a great honour and I am very proud. It is difficult at the minute to be over-pleased because of the result, but in the grand scheme it is huge honour.

"It is not something I expected when I joined. I am proud and I hope there is more to come.

"The players who have played for this club have been world class."

It's a great feeling - Rooney on breaking record

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: "The record is the record. It is the record of the biggest club in England and one of the biggest in the world. Before him the record belonged to a legend of English football. Now Wayne becomes a legend of Manchester United."

Former record-holder Sir Bobby Charlton: "I would be lying to say that I'm not disappointed to have lost the record.

"However, I can honestly say that I'm delighted for Wayne. He deserves his place in the history books.

"He is a true great for club and country, and it is fitting that he is now the highest goalscorer for both United and England."

Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson: "Wayne thoroughly deserves his place in the history books of this great club and I am sure that he will go on to score many more goals.

"Well done Wayne, I am absolutely delighted for you, you have been a great servant to this club and long may it continue."

Stoke City manager and former Manchester United striker Mark Hughes: "It is an outstanding record and won't be surpassed. It has taken 40-odd years for Sir Bobby's record to be broken which shows how high a mark it was."

Wayne's world - the stats

  • This was only Rooney's second Premier League goal of the season after netting on the opening day against Bournemouth.
  • Of his 250 Manchester United goals, this was the 11th that had come in the 90th minute or after and the sixth scored from a direct free-kick.
  • 180 of his goals have come in the Premier League, with 39 in European competition.
  • 136 have been at home, 106 away and eight at neutral venues.
  • He has scored 193 with his right foot, 27 with his left and 30 with his head.

United frustrated until the last

Rooney's intervention was all the more dramatic given the struggles of his team-mates on a bitter afternoon in the Potteries.

United had almost all of the play - 65% of the possession, 25 efforts on goal to Stoke's six, almost a third of the game was played in City's defensive third - and yet the visitors could barely find a way through.

Soon after deflecting into his own net, Mata dinked over from close range with the goal at his mercy, while Grant made excellent saves from Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was strangely subdued and on more than one occasion he opted to pass when an effort on goal looked the better option.

An isolated figure in the first half, the former Sweden forward gained more support in the second - Marcus Rashford providing pace and incision down the left, fellow substitute Jesse Lingard hitting the top of the crossbar.

It all looked to count for nothing until Rooney's late moment of magic gave the visitors a point they totally deserved.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic touches
The touches Zlatan Ibrahimovic had in the first half are shown on the left. His greater involvement in the second half (on the right) was indicative of United's greater support of their frontman

Tireless Potters remain on the up

Despite the desperate disappointment of seeing victory snatched away, Stoke can take encouragement from further evidence of continued improvement.

As recently as 31 December, a five-game winless run had them only seven points above the relegation zone, but they have since won two and drawn one.

Conceding 32 in their first 19 matches, they have shipped only two in the past three - and on Saturday keeper Grant's brilliance was matched by Bruno Martins Indi, who put in a colossal performance at the heart of defence.

Though attacks were largely limited to counters, Marko Arnautovic created problems down the left and Peter Crouch was a handful for the United defence, despite playing a lone hand up front.

A day that began with new signing Saido Berahino being paraded on the pitch ultimately ended with a sucker punch, but realistically Stoke should see this as point gained rather than two dropped.

Man of the match - Lee Grant (Stoke City)

Lee Grant
Wayne Rooney will take the headlines, but it was the man he ultimately beat who put in the best performance. Lee Grant seemed unbeatable in the Stoke goal and it took a moment of brilliance - and history - to change that.

'We need to pick ourselves up'

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes: "We are disappointed but we need to pick ourselves up. We were within seconds of beating a very good Manchester United team.

"My only criticism to the guys is that we didn't keep the ball long enough. We are good enough to do that but we needed more care to get up the other end of the pitch.

"In the end we tried to protect what we had and I can't criticise what we did for the free kick."

Draw hard on Stoke - Hughes

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho: "It was a big game with two teams in the beginning trying to win. But after 25 minutes one team tried to win and the other tried to defend, which they did amazingly well.

"They showed great work-rate and did everything to try and stop us. We did everything well except in front of our target.

"We missed unbelievable chances. We hit the post, the keeper saves, we missed chances. The opposition goalkeepers are always amazing against us."

Mourinho 'not happy' after draw with Stoke

What's next?

Out of the FA Cup, Stoke do not play again until 1 February, when they host Everton in the Premier League.

United have two games before then, holding a 2-0 lead when they travel to Hull in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Thursday and entertaining Wigan in the FA Cup on 29 January (16:00 GMT, live on BBC One).

Line-ups

Stoke

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 33GrantBooked at 59mins
  • 8Johnson
  • 17Shawcross
  • 15Martins Indi
  • 3PietersBooked at 62mins
  • 6Whelan
  • 16AdamSubstituted forAfellayat 63'minutes
  • 22ShaqiriSubstituted forNgoyat 73'minutes
  • 4AllenBooked at 90mins
  • 10ArnautovicBooked at 7minsSubstituted forImbulaat 88'minutes
  • 25Crouch

Substitutes

  • 2Bardsley
  • 5Muniesa Martínez
  • 14Afellay
  • 21Imbula
  • 24Given
  • 27Bojan
  • 45Ngoy

Man Utd

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1de Gea
  • 25A Valencia
  • 12Smalling
  • 4Jones
  • 17Blind
  • 27FellainiSubstituted forRashfordat 56'minutes
  • 21Herrera
  • 6Pogba
  • 8MataSubstituted forRooneyat 67'minutes
  • 9Ibrahimovic
  • 22MkhitaryanSubstituted forLingardat 73'minutes

Substitutes

  • 10Rooney
  • 14Lingard
  • 16Carrick
  • 19Rashford
  • 20Romero
  • 31Schweinsteiger
  • 36Darmian
Referee:
Mark Clattenburg
Attendance:
27,423

Match Stats

Home TeamStokeAway TeamMan Utd
Possession
Home35%
Away65%
Shots
Home6
Away25
Shots on Target
Home1
Away8
Corners
Home1
Away7
Fouls
Home13
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Stoke City 1, Manchester United 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Stoke City 1, Manchester United 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Giannelli Imbula (Stoke City) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Julien Ngoy.

  4. Goal!

    Goal! Stoke City 1, Manchester United 1. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) from a free kick with a right footed shot to the top right corner.

  5. Booking

    Joe Allen (Stoke City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  6. Post update

    Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  7. Post update

    Foul by Joe Allen (Stoke City).

  8. Post update

    Foul by Jesse Lingard (Manchester United).

  9. Post update

    Erik Pieters (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

  11. Post update

    Glen Johnson (Stoke City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Substitution

    Substitution, Stoke City. Giannelli Imbula replaces Marko Arnautovic.

  13. Post update

    Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) hits the bar with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

  14. Post update

    Attempt saved. Paul Pogba (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ander Herrera.

  15. Post update

    Corner, Stoke City. Conceded by Phil Jones.

  16. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Paul Pogba.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Marko Arnautovic.

  18. Post update

    Attempt missed. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jesse Lingard with a headed pass.

  19. Post update

    Attempt saved. Ander Herrera (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Jesse Lingard.

  20. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Daley Blind (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Wayne Rooney with a cross.

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

429 comments

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Chelsea21171345153052
2Tottenham22137245162946
3Liverpool22136351272445
4Arsenal21135348222644
5Man City22134543281543
6Man Utd22118333211241
7Everton22106633231036
8West Brom229583028232
9Stoke227782834-628
10West Ham2284102936-728
11Bournemouth2275103239-726
12Burnley2182112331-826
13Southampton216691926-724
14Watford2266102538-1324
15Leicester2156102434-1021
16Middlesbrough2248101825-720
17Swansea2253142651-2518
18Crystal Palace2244143041-1116
19Hull2144132045-2516
20Sunderland2243152042-2215
View full Premier League table

Elsewhere on the BBC