Marko Arnautovic scored twice to help Stoke City on their way to a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League this afternoon.
The Austrian forward profited from some fine play by teammate Xherdan Shaqiri to essentially wrap up the points for his side with just 15 minutes on the clock.
It could have been even better for the Potters had Arnautovic not squandered two more decent openings, on what turned out to be a poor day for the morning league leaders.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how the 90 minutes of action unfolded in the Potteries.
Match statistics
STOKE CITY
Shots: 7
On target: 4
Possession: 47%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 9
MANCHESTER CITY
Shots: 11
On target: 4
Possession: 53%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
The real topic of debate following this contest regards Stoke's failure to add a third goal to their tally, rather than any hopes their opponents had of potentially stealing a point. Right from the off this was always going to be the Potters' day, as Arnautovic and Shaqiri linked up twice in the space of 15 first-half minutes to put the visitors to the sword.
It must be remembered that Man City were without the true spine of their outfield side, as Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany were all forced to sit this one out. While the loss of prolific marksman Aguero was a big loss, as was the drive of Toure in the middle, it was the absence of influential skipper Kompany that was felt the most as the Citizens were carved open on four separate occasions.
Stoke capitalised on some slack defending twice early on, but Arnautovic really should have added a third when played clean through by Shaqiri, only to pick out the post when given perhaps just a little too much time to thing about the shot. Manuel Pellegrini's side had just two meaningful shots on goal all afternoon, both kept out with ease by Jack Butland, while their misery was further compounded when left down to 10 men when, with all their subs already used, Fernandinho limped off 15 minutes from time.
Stoke City's performance
While a lot of the talk pre-match may have surrounded those missing Man City players, Mark Hughes's decision to omit Jonathan Walters and bring in Ibrahim Afellay also sparked discussions around the Britannia Stadium. The Welshman's team selection was justified just seven minutes in, however, thanks to the superb link-up between Arnautovic and star man Shaqiri.
The Potters' slow start to the season, in which they took seven games to get off the mark with a first win, is now very much a thing of the past thanks to some solid form in the months since. There is a League Cup semi-final to look forward to in the New Year, too, and perhaps inspired by their 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in midweek they were quick out of the blocks.
This match was all about the fine interplay by Stoke's attacking players, most notably between the aforementioned pairing of Shaqiri and Arnautovic, but the hosts also kept a sixth clean sheet in eight which was largely down to Butland. While the England international hardly had his busiest of afternoons, he still had to keep out two attempts on goal in the first half, the first of which culminated in his side breaking up the other end and scoring their second of the day. An occasion to remember all round for City, and a place in the top half of the table offers a worthy reward for their performance.
Manchester City's performance
Man City's recent form may have been somewhat indifferent heading into this lunchtime kickoff, but their hopes of tasting success on more than one front this campaign had very much been on track. Those who have followed the Premier League this season will no doubt have seen this result coming, though, as the title race took another twist in the Potteries with this latest City slip-up.
Playing ahead of their rivals offered a huge advantage, which Pellegrini's charges failed to make the most of. Minus certain star men, this is still a squad that oozes quality, including Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and the returning David Silva, who started together for the first time since the beginning of October.
Two tame efforts on goal in each half simply was not good enough, and this contest was essentially over at the break considering it has been a decade since the two-time Premier League champions last bounced back from a two-goal deficit in the second half. For the first time since April 2009 City also conceded for a third away game on the spin, as well as making it four away days without a win over the past month. All in all this was an afternoon to forget for Pellegrini, who must be praying that certain focal figures return sooner rather than later.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Xherdan Shaqiri: Arnautovic may have scored two, but Shaqiri really did prove to be a thorn in Man City's side in the first half in particular. Three times he split the visitors' defensive unit apart, while he almost played in Bojan on the hour only for the wind to help the through-ball on to a grateful Hart.
Biggest gaffe
It was not quite the perfect performance from the Swiss, though, as he was guilty of missing a complete sitter shortly before being taken off in the second half. In a reverse of the opening two goals, Arnautovic this time turned provider and laid one on a plate for his teammate, only for Shaqiri to somehow fail to connect with the ball when an open goal was gaping in front of him.
Referee performance
It came as little surprise to see Martin Atkinson wave away faint penalty appeals from the away side, as a cross into the box hit returning skipper Ryan Shawcross on the upper arm. The man in the middle has yet to point to the spot so far this season and, that call aside, he did not have a great deal to do.
What next?
Stoke City: The Potters head to Upton Park next weekend, where they will look to take another step towards climbing into the top eight when taking on West Ham United.
Manchester City: Pellegrini must pick up his side for the visit of Swansea City next weekend, but first is a meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.
Daniel Lewis
