Late-goal specialist Carlos Tevez made it a merry Christmas for United, giving the champions all three points in the Potteries with an 83rd-minute winner.
The vital breakthrough goal was created by Dimitar Berbatov, sent on as a substitute as Sir Alex Ferguson strived to avoid another costly stalemate.

United set the seal on an historic year by becoming the first British side to win the Club World Cup to end 2008 as the best team on the planet.
First-half dominance gave way to second-half nerves as the Reds were forced to play 45 minutes with only 10 men following Nemanja Vidic’s sending off, but a 73rd minute goal from player of the tournament Wayne Rooney gave United a deserved victory.

Never underestimate the impact Wayne Rooney can have on a football match. United may well have already been 2-0 up against Gamba Osaka when Rooney was brought on in Japan, but the game only truly sparked into life when the England international stepped onto the pitch.
And how it sparked! Six goals – three for United, three for Gamba Osaka – in 19 minutes followed Rooney’s introduction. When the dust had settled after an incredible turn of events, the Reds had emerged 5-3 winners and booked a place in Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final.
Rooney’s first emotion would have been frustration, however, as Gamba Osaka immediately pulled the score back to 2-1 courtesy of striker Masato Yamakazi.

United were unable to secure the perfect send-off to Japan for the Club World Cup after being held to a goalless draw by Spurs at a soggy White Hart Lane.
The champions were strangely out-of-sorts for much of the game and were uncharacteristically sloppy in possession in a scrappy first half.
The game improved as a spectacle as the game wore on but the Reds found Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes in inspired form and missed out on the chance to close the gap on Liverpool at the top. United would have been spurred on before kick-off by news of the leaders’ home draw with Hull, and a stronger-than-anticipated line-up took to the field at White Hart Lane.

Wayne Rooney spared United’s blushes with a second-half equaliser against Danish minnows Aalborg, with a point enough to seal the Reds’ position as Group E winners. An early goal from Carlos Tevez and Rooney’s strike sandwiched a shock double from the visiting Danes, but United’s spot in the last 16 of the Champions League was already assured by a draw at Villarreal on Matchday Five.