Stoke City 2-0 Middlesbrough
- Published
- comments
Marko Arnautovic scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season for Stoke
A Marko Arnautovic double helped Stoke City ease to victory as struggling Middlesbrough slipped into the Premier League relegation zone.
Arnautovic opened the scoring with a superb solo goal, plucking the ball out of the air with a neat touch and rounding Victor Valdes to finish.
The Austrian doubled the Potters' lead before the break, lashing in from close range after Peter Crouch's nod down.
Ben Gibson had an effort ruled out for offside, but that was as close as Boro came.
The result means Aitor Karanka's side have not scored in their past four league games.
The Arnautovic show
Potters boss Mark Hughes said Arnautovic "doesn't like scoring as much as he should do" after the win, but if the tricky forward can maintain this sort of form then he may well end up as Stoke's top scorer for a second successive season.
That would be a blessing for Hughes, who this week dismissed on-loan striker Wilfried Bony's claims that it was "crazy" he was not playing. Hughes is also yet to give new signing Saido Berahino a league start.
Former Inter and Werder Bremen man Arnautovic linked well with Crouch, and the touch for his first goal was one of a player brimming with confidence.
The Austrian was a thorn in the Middlesbrough side almost immediately from kick-off, teeing up team-mate Ramadan Sobhi only to see the Egypt winger strike the bar.
Boro fire another blank
Ben Gibson had the ball in the net for Boro, but team-mate Bernardo was adjudged to be offside
Middlesbrough's lack of goals are turning into something of a crisis for boss Karanka, who watched his side drop into the bottom three for the first time this season.
A league-low 19 goals has seen them muster only four wins all campaign and it is perhaps no surprise that Boro have not found the net in four games, plus their shooting accuracy is only better than West Ham's.
Karanka opted to drop top scorer Alvaro Negredo in favour of January signing Rudy Gestede, but the Benin forward was isolated as Boro's midfield failed to support their lone striker.
Fellow new arrival Patrick Bamford did not even make the bench.
Boro's early-season form was built on a solid defence and they have conceded fewer goals than any other team in the bottom half, but after the loss of centre-back Daniel Ayala to injury early on it was easy pickings for Stoke.
Man of the match - Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City)
Marko Arnautovic proved the match-winner and, along with Ramadan Sobhi, put in the Potters' most impressive performance before he was withdrawn with 25 minutes to go
'We had something to prove' - what they said
Stoke manager Mark Hughes: "It was important to bounce back. We didn't do ourselves any favours at Tottenham last week. We had something to prove.
"It was a deserved lead in the first half, two good goals from Marko Arnautovic. We could have won more comprehensively.
"When he times those runs in behind he is very difficult to knock off his stride, he's a big guy with lots of power. He's got that potential."
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka: "In this kind of moment we need to be positive. We have to know we have done good things so far.
"We have to keep believing in this group of players. Until the last day we will keep fighting.
"We are in the bottom three and we need to work harder to leave those positions."
Home comforts for Stoke - key stats
Stoke have lost only one of their past 12 home Premier League games.
Marko Arnautovic scored his first home Premier League goal in 308 days.
Arnautovic has scored 21 Premier League goals, equalling the record scored by an Austrian [Paul Scharner] in the competition.
Middlesbrough have won one of their past 27 away Premier League matches.
Boro have now failed to score in a league-high 13 matches this season and have not found the net in six of their past eight Premier League games.
What next?
Stoke face Manchester City at the Etihad in the Premier League on Wednesday, kick-off 20:00 GMT, before hosting Chelsea 10 days later.
Middlesbrough host both Manchester clubs in the next two weeks. City visit the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals next Saturday (12:15), before United make the trip in the Premier League on Sunday, 19 March (12:00).