Stoke City have held defending champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw in an entertaining contest at the Britannia Stadium.
The Citizens started brightly but failed to produce any clear opportunities, with a curling shot from Carlos Tevez that landed just wide being the closest of the early chances.
The Britannia Stadium crowd erupted in the 15th minute when Peter Crouch finished well from close range after good work from his strike partner, Jonathan Walters.
Roberto Mancini's side could have been level midway through the first period but Mario Balotelli failed to hit the target from 12 yards out
Stoke's luck didn't last much longer though as a Tevez cross was met by debutant Javi Garcia to wipe out the home side's advantage.
Both sides had chances to take the lead after the interval, with Crouch being denied a second goal by a good save from Joe Hart.
Balotelli was close to atoning for his earlier miss with a well-directed header but Begovic moved well to push the ball to safety.
Begovic was called into action again just moments later and the Bosnian continued his impressive game by blocking Yaya Toure's effort with his legs.
Stoke's defence looked determined in the final moments of the match and despite the introduction of the lively David Silva, the Premier League champions were forced to settle for a draw.
Callum Mulvihill
