Tony Mowbray’s unbeaten start to life as Birmingham boss continued with an impressive 2-1 win at Stoke.
Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield handed the visitors a dream opening when he fired in an eighth league goal of the season after 10 minutes.
The Potters, who were unbeaten since Steven Schumacher’s appointment last month, reacted positively but struggled to create clear chances.
Mowbray’s outfit began the second period in similar fashion to the first as Juninho Bacuna’s exquisite free-kick doubled their lead.
The home side teed up an intriguing finish to the tie when Jordan Thompson halved their arrears, but Blues held on for a crucial three points.
Stoke, who were unbeaten in five league games, started brightly and should have opened the scoring inside eight minutes.
John Ruddy parried a troubling Wouter Burger volley only as far as Bae Jun-ho, but the South Korea youth international could only fire the rebound into the side netting.
The hosts were immediately punished as Birmingham landed a sucker-punch on the counter through their leading marksman.
Koji Miyoshi’s through ball was latched on to by Stansfield, who shrugged off the challenge of Luke McNally to fire in an emphatic opener.
The Potters responded brightly to their early setback and should have levelled to cap off a frenetic first quarter of an hour.
Ryan Mmaee sprung the offside trap and raced through on goal, but his shot was saved well by the imposing Ruddy.
Then it was the turn of forward partner Andre Vidigal to go close, yet his guided effort dropped narrowly wide of the far post.
Only Exeter have scored fewer home league goals in the EFL than Stoke’s tally of 10 this season, and that wastefulness in the final third was on show again.
The hosts struggled to make their dominance count and Michael Rose spurned the chance of the half when he failed to convert from point-blank range.
At the opposite end, a bright Stansfield nearly notched his second of the afternoon before the interval, but he miscued his strike following a Daniel Iversen save.
The England Under-21 forward’s blushes were saved shortly after the restart thanks to a moment of brilliance courtesy of Bacuna.
The Curacao international stepped up from 25 yards and curled a delicious free-kick straight into the top corner beyond a helpless Iversen.
Again, Stoke rallied in their pursuit of a response with Jun-ho lifting an effort on to the crossbar and substitute Tyrese Campbell also going close.
The hosts’ persistence was eventually rewarded when Thompson bundled in his side’s first home league goal from open play since October 25.
But a late onslaught proved to be in vain for Schumacher’s side, who failed to repeat a 3-1 victory from the reverse fixture on Boxing Day.
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
