Reigning champions Manchester City have been forced into a 1-1 draw with Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

City boss Roberto Mancini handed debuts to three summer signings - Maicon, Javi Garcia and Scott Sinclair - with one of the trio making an immediate impact at his new club.

Peter Crouch opened the scoring for Stoke, following up from his brilliant goal against the champions least season, with a controversial goal when he appeared to handle the ball twice before forcing his way through to toe-poke home past Joe Hart from close range.

City debutant Javi Garcia, who signed for £15.8million from Benfica, levelled 20 minutes later when he rose above the pack to head home Carlos Tevez's free-kick from the left flank.

City had the lion's share of possession and had a number of scoring chances throughout but Stoke's Asmir Begovic was on top of his game with no less than seven saves as Tony Pulis' men made life difficult for the champs.

City now sits fourth on the league table with two wins and two draws from their four outings whilst the Potters find themselves mid-table with four draws to start the season.

Stoke City: 1 (Peter Crouch 15') Manchester City: 1 (Javi Garcia 35')

Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent - 27,101

Yellow cards:STO - nil MC - Javi Garcia 55'