Wayne Rooney may have been absent as he celebrated his 25th birthday, but his presence loomed large at the Britannia Stadium as Manchester United's faltering Premier League title challenge stuttered back into life.
Rooney was persuaded this week that Sir Alex Ferguson's men remain the team to beat, but an extraordinary few days at Old Trafford looked set for a miserable finish when Stoke substitute Tuncay hit a sublime 82nd-minute equaliser to cancel out Javier Hernandez's first-half header.
However, summer acquisition Hernandez found time to sweep in a late winner which ended a long wait for an away league victory and closed the gap on leaders Chelsea to five points.
Central to Rooney's push for a move away was a claim that the club, burdened with debt ever since the Glazer family's takeover, could no longer match his ambition by attracting the world's top players.
While that may be true to some extent, Hernandez is looking a more astute purchase by the game as he notched his fourth and fifth goals since joining from Guadalajara for around £7 million over the summer.
Facing away from goal, the little Mexican still managed to open the scoring in the 27th minute with the back of his head in what was a fine piece of finishing.
Gary Neville was then incredibly fortunate not to be sent off at the end of the first half when referee Andre Marriner declined to show him a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Matthew Etherington.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis will be understandably furious with the decision, but the fact remains that despite dictating play for large periods the Potters were unable to test Edwin van der Sar once until Tuncay's fine strike.
And that lack of cutting edge proved crucial when Hernandez reacted quickly to poke in the winner with four minutes left.
The home side had enjoyed a spell of pressure before United forged ahead through Hernandez. Nani worked a short corner with Patrice Evra and when Nemanja Vidic headed the ball back across the face of goal, the Mexican international was able to flick home his header despite facing away from goal.
Stoke responded well as they again dictated play and Neville became the first name in referee Andre Marriner's book for a clumsy challenge on Matthew Etherington. Neville was then extremely lucky not to see red after another mistimed challenge on Etherington.
Neville surprisingly reappeared with the rest of United's players at the break but was then humiliatingly instantly replaced by Wes Brown before the half could kick-off.
Pulis introduced Tuncay and Eidur Gudjohnsen in a bid to add more quality in the final third and the two combined in an 82nd-minute equaliser. Paul Scholes gave the ball away and after Kenwyne Jones and Gudjohnsen linked up, Marc Wilson swept a fabulous pass out wide to the Turk.
Tuncay cut inside onto his left foot to sweep a stunning finish over the head of Van der Sar and into the top corner. It was the first goal Stoke had managed past United since Mark Stein's double in a League Cup tie in 1993 and was well worth the wait.
Ferguson's men could write the book on late goals, however, and Hernandez was again the crucial man as he poked in Evra's mis-hit shot from five yards with just four minutes left.
Javier Hernandez was happy to help Manchester United end an extraordinary week on a positive note with a 2-1 win at Stoke. Hernandez said afterwards: "We were very happy with the result. We know about Stoke's style and are delighted. I'm working a lot because I want to stay here a long time and win a lot of tournaments.''
On the first goal, an impressive 27th-minute header, he added on Sky Sports: "I jumped and saw the ball behind me and tried to head it towards the goal. I don't remember doing it in training. It's a good goal but the most important thing is the result. Here there are no heroes, it is about the team.
"My team-mates trust in me and all the staff too. It's an unbelievable opportunity for me to play with the biggest team in the world.''
And Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Chicharito's contribution, insisting that it could be a crucial one in the grand scheme of this season's title race.
"When their goal went in you start to say to yourself it is going to be one of those seasons, but Chicharito came up with the winner. The supporters reaction was fantastic to the goal and our players reaction was fantastic. It is the kind of goal United score over the years.
"A late goal met by incredible enthusiasm by the fans. They knew it was an important one. Hopefully we can now kick on. We have some important games between now and Christmas time and we have to make our mark in the league now.''
Gary Neville was incredibly fortunate not to be sent off at the end of the first half when referee Andre Marriner declined to show him a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Stoke's Matthew Etherington.
And the veteran defender said afterwards: "It was important we won, drawing so many away games has not been so good. When Tuncay's goal went in we thought 'oh no, not again' so the winner was fantastic.
"I'm disappointed having to come off at half-time. I want to get my season going and I wanted to play 90 minutes today - but it's a great result for us.''
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