Boss: We Played Like Champions

Sir Alex Ferguson said his side played like "real champions" in the battling 1-1 draw at Stoke City on Saturday.

The Reds had taken the lead through Nani's brilliant solo effort, but Stoke have already shown this season, against Chelsea and Liverpool, that the visit of the big teams holds no fears for them and they ensured David De Gea had a busy afternoon in the United goal.

Peter Crouch drew the home side level on 52 minutes and in the end Sir Alex felt a point was a fair result.

"I was pleased with the performance from the lads - they battled really hard and played like real champions," he told MUTV afterwards.

"If Stoke were going to score it was probably going to be from a set-piece. They've got some big lads in their team and they do keep you under pressure that way.

"In terms of the attacking part we showed some good play and maybe should have scored more. We've always done well here, but all the changes we had to make today [with injuries to Evans, Hernandez and Rooney] maybe just unsettled us a bit for parts of the game.

"A draw is probably a fair result. It's a difficult place to come to."

The manager was particularly pleased with his goalkeeper's display after a string of top class saves.

"He had a couple of great saves in the first half and looked very confident." added the boss. "He has terrific composure, nothing disturbs him. He just sailed through the game."