David de Gea’s stunning man of the match display was made in Stoke! The Spaniard’s sceptics were questioning whether, after a shaky start to his time at United, the 20-year-old was made of fine Wedgewood porcelain when he went to the Potteries last month.

Having to face the aerial power of Tony Pulis’s skyscrapers was seen as the biggest test of his debut season in England. But he proved himself to be as solid as stoneware.

And Rio Ferdinand believes that encounter at the Britannia Stadium was a turning point for the £18.3m United keeper.

In front of the Kop, where his predecessor Edwin Van der Sar suffered a rare gaffe last season when he spilled a free-kick to allow Dirk Kuyt to score in Liverpool’s 3-1 win, De Gea superbly denied Luis Suarez, Kuyt and Jordan Henderson in the second half.

It was a point-winning collection of saves that averted a fourth consecutive defeat at Anfield for the Reds.

“David de Gea has gone from strength to strength,” said Ferdinand. “The game against Stoke was a pivotal moment for him.

“There was a lot of pressure on him there with people expecting things to go wrong for him because of the size of the opponents and how Stoke put pressure on the goalkeeper.

“He dealt with that game brilliantly and I think that was huge for him confidence wise. He has just got better and better from there.

“I didn’t notice a change in him after Stoke because he is not an emotional type of guy or someone who is that animated, but you can tell from his performances since that he is looking more comfortable and confident.

“He made three huge match-winning saves for us against Liverpool.

“He had big shoes to fill after Edwin retired and I wouldn’t even begin to start speaking in terms of comparing him. He will tell you himself he has loads of things to learn and loads of things still to do in the game before we can start comparing him to anyone.

“He is showing why the club spent so much money on him and went out big to get him.

“Goalkeepers for other clubs are always involved in the action. Here he is not involved for a long time and then, bang, he has to make a quick save. That is what sets the top keepers apart.

“I do talk to him at various points in the game but I am not one, if he makes mistakes, to bawl and shout at him because he knows himself. When he has made a good save I will always give him the encouragement he deserves.

“After the last three years losing here and the manner in which we have been beaten I would say that a point was a decent result.”

Ferdinand and de Gea were part of a solid rearguard display by the Reds as they executed Sir Alex Ferguson’s game plan to the letter.

The United manager’s starting XI had a heavy accent on laying a solid foundation and on the face of it looked a ‘happy with a draw’ selection.

The biggest game of the season and all United’s recognised match winners like Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and Nani were in the dug out. But in September 2008 Fergie went to Anfield with Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Rooney in his starting line-up and lost 2-0.

In October 2009 he chose Berbatov, Rooney and Antonio Valencia and the Reds lost 2-0 again.

Last March it was Berbatov and Rooney again with Nani – and United went down 3-1.

So whether it was unlike United or not, the note of initial caution was understandable with Fergie clearly scarred by his past three visits.

It led to over an hour of drudgery but with the Rooney and Chicharito aces up his sleeve, Ferguson began warming up his match winners just past the hour mark.

But just as Rooney stripped ready for his entrance, Ryan Giggs inexplicably sucked in his midriff to allow Steve Gerrard’s free-kick to squeeze through the wall and past de Gea to give the home side the lead.

Now it became a match-saving exercise and Rooney was on, to be quickly followed by Chicharito.

The Mexican saviour did what he did in March and scored, but instead of a consolation this time his header won United a point. De Gea’s late one-man barricade ensured they kept hold of the precious booty.

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