 |
| Marco Arnautovic |
Two goals from Marko Arnautovic sentenced Manchester City to a 2-0 rout on Saturday as their Premier League title trusts endured a genuine blow at Stoke City.
The Austrian forward netted twice in the first half and missed a few chances for a hat-trick as an overwhelming Stoke side guaranteed a merited win at a windswept Britannia Stadium.
Xherdan Shaqiri, their £12 million ($18.1 million, 16.7 million euros) record marking, was at the heart of the accomplishment with helps for both goals and a brilliant all-round presentation.
In spite of driving the table toward the begin of the day, Manchester City now have only one win from their last four alliance recreations and are encountering their hardest spell of the season.
Manuel Pellegrini's side enhanced marginally after half-time, however infrequently undermined a fightback after a frightful cautious showcase in the first period.
Stoke made a fantasy begin as Arnautovic gave them a seventh-minute lead taking after fine work from Shaqiri.
The Switzerland hitman was just too good for Fernando on the touchline before crossing for Arnautovic, who dashed between two defenders to wrap up.
Kevin De Bruyne had an opportunity to level for the guests in the wake of skipping from midfield to the edge of the region, however his agreeable shot on 14 minutes was very much spared by goalkeeper Jack Butland.
A moment later Stoke multiplied their lead as Shaqiri and Arnautovic consolidated once more.
There was more splendor from Shaqiri, whose eminent turn outfoxed Fernando before his breathtaking pass allowed Arnautovic to create a cool, low complete for 2-0.
After a peaceful spell, Bojan threatened to score a peculiar third for Stoke when he took advantage of a few ricochets to ride three city players before in the long run being swarmed out 10 yards from goal.
At that point Stoke had a grand opportunity to add to their count when a back-heel from Ibrahim Afellay discharged Glenn Whelan on the left and the midfielder's cross was going wide at the close post by Arnautovic.
Arnautovic missed a surprisingly better opportunity to put the match past City just before the half time when he was discharged by another fine Shaqiri pass, just to see his shot skip back off the right-hand post.
City goalkeeper Joe Hart needed to make a fine save after restart in the second half to hinder a shot from Bojan after another weaving keep running from the Barcelona striker. The bounce back tumbled to Arnautovic, who let go simply wide.
At that point the Austrian went close again when he gathered a brilliant flick from Bojan and surrounded objective before sending a firm cross-shot only wide of the far post.
Bojan was the beside go close for the hosts when he gathered a fine pass from Shaqiri and beat Hart to the ball before having his run checked by the meeting goalkeeper.
The evening deteriorated for Pellegrini when Fernando was compelled to limp off on 73 minutes, decreasing his side to 10 men, with three substitutes officially utilized.
City connected some weight in the second half, however Butland, Englands second choice keeper, was infrequently called without hesitation as Mark Hughes' men dove in for a full three points.