Carlos Tevez hammered home a late winner as Manchester United turned up the heat on the Premier League pacesetters with victory at Stoke. Tevez made no mistake from six yards with seven minutes left.Stoke had mounted fierce resistance, but were reduced to 10 men for the last 18 minutes after Andy Wilkinson was sent off for fouling Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ricardo Fuller wasted Stoke's best chance in the opening seconds but United's pressure deserved the win.
It was the perfect return to domestic action for United after they beat LDU Quito in Japan on Sunday to lift the Club World Cup in Japan.