Jon Dahl Tomasson says his Blackburn side will “keep on dreaming” after they trounced Stoke 3-0.

A fourth successive away victory and fifth win in seven league games sees Rovers close the gap on the Championship play-offs.

Scott Wharton’s precise header handed the visitors early control and a lead which they never relinquished.

Brighton loanee Andrew Moran followed up his earlier assist with a first EFL goal to double Blackburn’s advantage and the Championship’s leading scorer Sammie Szmodics added a stoppage-time third for his 11th goal of the season.

“It was a brilliant performance and a brilliant result,” said the Blackburn boss.

“We all know how good we can play football, but our discipline and defending were extremely good and very pleasing.

“We frustrated Stoke a lot; the defending, attitude and spirit were all great and we showed a high level of discipline for 90 minutes.

“They were not able to take a chance and when they came into the final third, the stop sign was there and we defended like warriors.

“We’re taking our chances too; if you looked at all our performances this season, we could have won every game.

“We’re the team in the league who create the most chances and today we took our chances really well.

“We needed that break to recharge their heads and bodies, and you can hear how happy our fans are in the end and that says everything.

“We try to perform the best we can; we know we’re a young squad and that sometimes we’re lacking experience.

“Our CEO Steve Waggott said our target first of all was to stay in the league after the cutting of the budget.

“We’re allowed to dream of course and the fans, players and I will keep on dreaming about something big.”

It was a dismal afternoon for Stoke as their five-match unbeaten run was ended with a whimper.

The Potters, who had not conceded in over seven hours prior to the tie, looked fragile defensively and failed to convert their possession into chances.

“I don’t think the game was a 3-0 game,” Alex Neil said.

“For the first 15 minutes, they caused us an issue but after we fixed it, there wasn’t a problem from that point.

“The first goal is so disappointing because they’ve only scored one goal from a corner this season.

“After 15 minutes, I thought we started to take control of the game but the biggest difference was that they put the ball in the net and we didn’t.

“And the third goal makes the scoreline look much worse than what it actually was.

“They’ll be frustrated in the fact that I don’t think they’ll feel that they were outplayed. It was arguably just three or four moments that we didn’t deal with. We just didn’t defend those moments well enough.

“It’s a sore one because there’s been a lot of good things in the last five games.

“Today, you don’t want to send the fans home frustrated, disappointed and angry and ultimately that’ll be the case.”

Blackburn secured a fourth successive away league victory with a 3-0 drubbing of Stoke.

Scott Wharton’s fourth-minute header – his first Championship strike since October 2022 – handed Rovers an early lead which they never relinquished.

Brighton loanee Andrew Moran added a goal to his earlier assist to spark a late flurry of action.

And the league’s leading marksman Sammie Szmodics rounded off a comprehensive win in stoppage time with his 11th goal of the campaign.

It was a fifth victory in seven league games for Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side while the Potters, who had not conceded in over seven hours of football before the tie, endured a miserable afternoon as their five-match unbeaten run was ended.

Despite their impressive recent defensive record, the hosts could have fallen behind with barely a minute on the stopwatch. Szmodics sprung the offside trap and lifted an effort over Jack Bonham only for it to drop wide of the target.

The early warning sign was not heeded by Stoke, whose hope for a fifth consecutive clean sheet was ended a matter of moments later. A Moran corner was met by the towering Wharton, with his precise header off the woodwork giving Bonham no chance.

A frantic start to the fixture ensued with the Potters twice going close to producing an immediate response.

Daniel Johnson’s low drilled strike was flipped wide by keeper Leopold Wahlstedt before Enda Stevens’ cross was nearly converted by both Dwight Gayle and Luke McNally.

And Stoke continued in their pursuit of a leveller with South Korean youngster Bae Jun-ho trying his luck with a header and an effort from outside the box.

But again, the hosts looked uncharacteristically fragile defensively with Szmodics racing in on goal before prodding narrowly wide.

The in-form forward had another opportunity to double Blackburn’s advantage shortly before the interval, but his mazy run was halted by Bonham.

Alex Neil’s half-time instructions nearly prompted an instant reply after the restart, but an unmarked Wouter Burger headed over the target.

The introduction of Ryan Mmaee, Tyrese Campbell and Wesley tried to inspire a clinical edge, but still the Potters failed to craft a clear sight at goal.

Rovers capitalised with Bonham parrying Jake Garrett’s harmless effort directly into Moran’s path, with the 20-year-old converting on the rebound.

And Blackburn were not finished there as Szmodics raced through on goal, rounded Bonham and converted to add the cherry on top of a fine display.

It brings up four straight away wins in the second tier for the visitors for the first time since 2000-01 – a year in which they won promotion to the Premier League.

Coventry manager Mark Robins was pleased his side “stopped the rot” after a four-game losing streak but admitted his disappointment after his side drew 0-0 with Stoke.

The Sky Blues had been on a miserable run that culminated with a 3-2 defeat to Preston last time out, while the Potters left the West Midlands on a six-match unbeaten run after a fourth clean sheet in succession.

Ellis Simms came closest for the home side when he hit the post in the first half, whilst Jamie Allen and Matty Godden squandered good chances.

“I’m pleased with stopping the rot because it was getting boring, but frustrated because we should have taken the chances to have taken the game away from a really good side,” said Robins.

“There has been a lot of good work which has gone on this week, some of which has come out in today’s game, some of which didn’t and it will take time for it to come out fully.

“The work rate was incredible from everyone. Haji (Wright) on the left-hand side worked his socks off, Matty Godden, Ellis was trying to find his way, hits the post with one, Matty missed a chance when it has come off his shoulder from a header when you would expect him to score.

“You need something to move forward from and today is hopefully that. It’s been a tough (period from) international break to international break in terms of the points we have picked up but some of the performances have been really good – parts of performances have been really good.

“We’ll take it, the clean sheet on the back of the goals we’ve conceded, and some of the decisions that have gone against us have been laughable really.

“We’ve got to take the point and move on from that. Plenty of work to do.”

Alex Neil conceded his side did not do enough to win the game as Stoke battled to a second 0-0 draw in succession.

He said: “I thought there was some really good bits and some not-so-good bits. We played well through the back but I thought we lacked a real punch at the top end of the pitch today.

“I didn’t think we created enough real chances, we got into some good areas and got to the byline probably six or seven times in the game and I think when you get there you’ve got to create better opportunities, whether it’s a clear cut-back or you stand it up at the back post.

“I thought they were similar, they had some good moments but not anything clear that should win the game either.

“That’s four clean sheets on the bounce we’ve had and for us over a number of years that is rare so that’s a good point. What we need to do is make sure we’ve got enough aggression in our game, enough quality.

“We didn’t lack enough threat going forward in terms of volume of players, we just didn’t really select the right options. Sometimes in these tight games you need one player to produce one moment of quality and unfortunately for both teams that wasn’t quite there. We huffed and puffed without it really being enough.

“If you don’t do enough to win the game, don’t lose the game.”

Coventry halted their four-match losing run with a 0-0 Sky Bet Championship draw against Stoke.

The Sky Blues had been on a miserable run which culminated in a 3-2 loss against Preston last time out, but could have taken all three points as Ellis Simms hit the post in the first half.

Stoke left the West Midlands with their own unbeaten run intact as their second stalemate in succession left them six unbeaten.

Simms came closest to giving Coventry a much-needed three points when Jake Bidwell hung up an inviting cross to the back post which the former Everton man headed against the woodwork.

It was a much-changed Coventry side that saw Simms partnered by Matty Godden and Haji Wright up front, with all three strikers starting together for the first time in a new-look 4-3-3 formation.

Brad Collins was handed a first start in goal at the expense of Ben Wilson, whilst Bidwell was preferred to Jay Dasilva at left-back and Kyle McFadzean unavailable after the death of his mother on Tuesday.

The unchanged Stoke line-up featured two former Sky Blues at centre back as former loanee Luke McNally was partnered by Michael Rose.

After a dull opening 20 minutes, two of the front three linked up when Simms chested down for stand-in captain Godden, his deflected effort clawed away by Jack Bonham.

Collins was forced to save low to his left from Daniel Johnson at the other end with the Coventry back line stood still after the offside flag had been raised and then put down, cueing a chorus of boos from the majority of the 25,003 inside the ground.

Mark Robins’ side started well after the break when Wright headed Godden’s pinpoint cross over the crossbar before the American picked out Jamie Allen in the box, but the midfielder scuffed his effort.

Dwight Gayle forced Collins into a second save in a rare foray forward for Alex Neil’s men whilst Matt Vidigal’s acrobatic effort went wide.

Josh Eccles won possession high up the field and drove forward before feeding Simms but the 22-year-old skewed his effort wide before Wright could only find the side netting when he was played in down the left.

Godden then found a yard in the box but he could only nod Bidwell’s corner wide of Bonham’s goal.

The Sky Blues may have failed to find their all-important goal but a seventh draw of the season meant Robins’ men avoided a fifth straight defeat for the first time since February 2017.

Erol Bulut praised the progress of his Cardiff side despite being held to a goalless draw by Stoke.

The visiting Bluebirds dropped out of the Championship play-off fray after a frustrating afternoon in the Potteries.

Callum Robinson came the closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half as his deflected cutback ricocheted off the post.

And Ryan Wintle, who scored in the same fixture last season, nearly notched a late winner but was denied by Jack Bonham.

However, Cardiff still extended their unbeaten run to three games thanks to a third successive clean sheet, much to the pleasure of Bulut.

“I’m really happy with my players, they’ve made big progress,” said the Cardiff boss.

“It’s not easy for many players here when we remember the last two years with what’s happened and how we started pre-season and the first games.

“It’s not easy to change everything in a positive way. Right now we’ve done it but we need to continue in that way and keep believing in our target.

“We knew that it was going to be a tight game because Stoke have had three great wins against great teams.

“In the first half, we weren’t like what I expect from my team. The second half was so much better and in the end I’m happy with a point.

“We have to look forward and it’ll be good for us to keep our run of clean sheets.

“We had more shots on the goal and we were closer to scoring a goal than Stoke. We had enough chances to score but, in the end, we didn’t.

“Second half, we were much better in our offensive shape but the last pass was not good enough.

“We pressed them higher and got more chances in the second half. If we started like that, maybe the result would have been different.”

Despite three successive wins prior to the tie, Stoke were limited to a solitary shot on target.

However, boss Alex Neil was still encouraged as his resurgent side kept a third consecutive clean sheet of their own.

“A point was probably a fair result but obviously we wanted to win it,” said Neil.

“We played extremely well in the past three games and all our chances today came in the first half.

“We had two or three really good chances to score but unfortunately didn’t take any.

“If we take a chance then it becomes a different game, but then in the second half we played ourselves into trouble when we were trying to play.

“We were wasteful with the ball more than what we’ve been, and that’s the biggest thing I’ll take from the game.

“I put five different players on the pitch to try and influence the game and give us the impetus in the match, but they’re not an easy team to play against.

“The lads are despondent and disappointed but I’m happy with that return [of 10 points from four games].

“That’s the type of game last year that we’d have lost, where we didn’t take our opportunities and then it turns and we end up losing the game.

“If you can’t win, don’t lose. They didn’t deserve to win based on our chances in the first half and we didn’t deserve to win based on our second half.”

Stoke and Cardiff preserved their unbeaten runs as the points were shared in a goalless draw in the Potteries.

The hosts continued their resurgence following three successive wins, while the Bluebirds dropped out of the top six despite a third outing without defeat.

Cardiff forward Callum Robinson looked to continue his rich vein of form against Stoke and came closest to a decider, but his deflected effort was pushed on to the post.

The Potters’ best opportunities fell to Dwight Gayle, who blazed wide and was then denied by Jak Alnwick, both before the interval.

Despite a high tempo end to the fixture, neither side could find a decisive moment of quality to clinch victory.

Cardiff started promisingly as they looked to consolidate their position in the SkyBet Championship play-offs.

Inside six minutes, the travelling Bluebirds had their first effort on goal with Mark McGuinness heading straight at Jack Bonham.

A lively Robinson, who had scored three goals in as many games versus Stoke in his career, also came close early on.

The Republic of Ireland international nearly pounced on a slack Michael Rose back-pass, but an alert Bonham rushed out to diffuse the danger.

Robinson then nearly turned provider when his enticing free-kick delivery wreaked havoc, only for Yakou Meite to head wide from close range.

And Erol Bulut’s side sustained their control beyond the half-hour mark with McGuinness again going close with a glancing header.

The Potters gradually grew into the tie and threatened to snatch the advantage against the run of play.

A delicate Wouter Burger ball found Gayle in a promising position, but the forward snatched at his chance and dragged wide.

The hosts finished the half strongly thanks to Mehdi Leris and Gayle, with the latter denied by stopper Alnwick.

Cardiff nearly broke the deadlock prior to the interval when Robinson’s cutback wrongfooted Bonham, but the Stoke stopper tipped on to the post.

The visitors’ threat was not swayed by the break as Bulut’s outfit continued to impose themselves after the restart.

Karlan Grant nearly notched his second goal of the season after the hour mark, but his strike on the swivel drifted agonisingly wide.

Like the first period, the hosts began slowly but Michael Rose’s free header from a corner handed the Bluebirds a warning sign.

As the clock ticked on and legs began to tire, Alex Neil’s side flexed their attacking muscle but Josh Laurent blazed a volley harmlessly over the target.

And their wastefulness was almost punished in stoppage time by Ryan Wintle, who saw a goal-bound strike stopped impressively by Bonham.

Alex Neil claims the last seven days have shown what his Stoke side are capable of in the remainder of the Sky Bet Championship season.

Having started the campaign reasonably slowly, the Potters have exploded into life in the past week with successive victories over Sunderland, Leeds and Middlesbrough.

The latest of those wins saw them triumph 2-0 over Boro at the Riverside Stadium thanks to first-half goals from Michael Rose and Mehdi Leris.

The win saw Stoke climb into the top half of the table for the first time this season, with Neil confident his side will only get better as his summer signings continue to bed in.

He said: “I think the last three results and performances show where we could get to. It shows the potential.

“I think we look relatively settled now in terms of how we’re going to play, and we’ve managed to churn out three great performances and three great results in a row.

“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves – I think there’s been too many false dawns at Stoke, but I think, for us, we’ve got great potential and great scope. We’re only going to get better, and I’m expecting us to be good this season.”

Stoke’s win was achieved without goalkeeper Mark Travers, who was recalled by his parent club Bournemouth on Friday because of an injury to their first-choice Neto.

Neil said: “We’re gutted. You want as many strong players in your squad as you can. To lose Trav is hugely disappointing, especially because I thought he was coming on to a great game just before he left.

“He was feeling at ease at the club. It’s only just into double figures of games that he’s played for us, but unfortunately he’s had to go back. That’s a blow, but football’s always challenging somewhere along the line.”

Middlesbrough were chasing the game from the moment Rose headed home from a corner in the eighth minute, and fell further behind when Leris fired an angled drive into the bottom corner eight minutes before the break.

Josh Coburn struck the crossbar with a long-range drive, but Michael Carrick admitted his side had fallen short of the standards they had set as they embarked on a seven-game winning run that is now at an end.

Carrick said: “It’s disappointing. You’ve got to put things into perspective as well though. They are a good team, and if you are little bit off it then you get punished in this league.

“It just shows the levels that it takes to win games and look like you’re winning well. We were just a little bit off it really, from the start you could just feel we weren’t quite there.

“Even then, at half-time, I thought we finished the half well enough where there was enough in it there to have a real good go in the second half. It just didn’t really materialise in the end.”

Stoke rounded off a wonderful week in style as they ended Middlesbrough’s six-game winning run in the Sky Bet Championship with a 2-0 victory at the Riverside.

Alex Neil’s side had beaten Sunderland and Leeds in the seven days prior to their trip to Teesside, and they claimed another notable scalp as their surge up the table continued.

Michael Rose’s early headed effort from a corner opened the scoring, with Mehdi Leris adding a second goal with an angled finish shortly before the interval.

Middlesbrough struck the crossbar through a long-range strike from Josh Coburn, but Michael Carrick’s side delivered an off-colour display as they suffered a first defeat since mid-September.

Stoke were the better side from the off, with Dwight Gayle coming close to opening the scoring in the second minute when he latched onto Luke McNally’s floated through ball, only to scuff his effort at goal.

Six minutes later, however, and the visitors were claiming the lead as the Middlesbrough defence failed to deal with a corner.

Sead Haksabanovic delivered the ball from the right, and after peeling off Matt Crooks, Rose found the net with a near-post header.

Seny Dieng might well feel he should have done better, with the Middlesbrough goalkeeper getting his hand to the ball but only succeeding in helping it into the net.

Stoke remained the dominant force and almost doubled their lead on the quarter-hour mark when Leris’ one-two with Ki-Jana Hoever sent him racing towards the edge of the 18-yard box, only for his tame shot to be saved by Dieng.

Haksabanovic threatened midway through the first half, firing a shot wide from 20 yards after Josh Laurent flicked the ball into his path, and Stoke’s superiority was rewarded with a second goal eight minutes before the break.

Daniel Johnson rolled the ball into Leris’ path on the right of the area and the Algeria international drilled a slick low finish into the far corner.

Boro had not created anything of note at that stage, but they finally sparked into life through Coburn shortly before the interval.

The youngster fired in a shot that was saved by Stoke goalkeeper Jack Bonham before hammering another long-range effort against the crossbar after picking up a loose ball and driving towards the edge of the box.

Jonny Howson fired a shot wide as the home side tried to rally at the start of the second half, but Stoke almost scored a third goal when Gayle teed up Haksabanovic in the area, only for Dieng to save the Celtic loanee’s side-footed shot.

Stoke’s clean sheet was confirmed with four minutes remaining when Bonham got down to produce an excellent save as he turned substitute Morgan Rogers’ flicked effort around a post.

Alex Neil hopes Stoke’s 1-0 victory over Leeds helps to breed confidence and belief in his players as they secured successive Championship wins.

Leeds substitute Patrick Bamford could have put the Whites in front 15 minutes from time after being brought down by Ben Pearson, but blasted the resulting penalty over.

It proved costly as moments later Stoke striker Wesley headed against the bar and it went in off Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk as the Potters emerged victorious.

The win followed three points picked up against Sunderland over the weekend and Stoke boss Neil felt his players were energised after Bamford’s missed penalty.

Neil said: “When you go and deliver against two of the better teams in the division and you get six points off the back of it, and you can see how much the lads have put in, I think it breeds confidence in everything we’re doing and that belief is massive.

“I thought there was good spells in the first half where we used the ball really well, I thought there was a 20 to 25 minute spell where we were really on top and probably had two or three good opportunities, but we didn’t really take any of them.

“I think we got a let-off with the penalty, that was the one moment that rode in our favour and then we go up the other end, and I thought the fans completely blew the roof off once the penalty was missed, you could see our players get a bit of energy from that, and we went on and won the game.”

Leeds boss Daniel Farke felt his side missed the game’s biggest chance and Stoke took full advantage of that situation to net the winner.

He said: “You have to be clinical in using your chances and today we missed the biggest chance with the penalty and then you could feel for one or two moments a bit disappointed and the whole stadium was buzzing because we missed the penalty.

“They used this in order to create one or two set-pieces and out of the second they were able to score.

“This is football – we didn’t give one chance out of the game away in the second half, but because we missed this penalty and didn’t put the game to bed, we were for this one moment not switched on and they were able to use this chance and once they were in the lead with just 10 minutes to go, they tried everything, put their bodies on the line to block every shot.

“It’s the Championship, it’s relentless, so congratulations to Stoke and a hard-fought win but I also get the feeling you should travel away with points.”

Patrick Bamford’s penalty miss proved costly as Leeds saw their three-match winning run in the Championship end with a 1-0 defeat at Stoke.

Whites substitute Bamford could have put the Yorkshire side ahead at the bet365 Stadium in the 75th minute but fired over from the spot.

And minutes later at the other end, Wesley’s header clipped the bottom of the crossbar and went in off Leeds captain Pascal Struijk for what proved to be the winner.

Daniel Farke’s side came into the encounter with a 100 per cent record in October, while Alex Neil’s Potters were aiming for successive victories after Saturday’s home triumph against Sunderland.

The Potters had first sight of goal in the opening minute when Andre Vidigal swept in a low shot after meeting Ki-Jana Hoever’s cross but it was straight at Illan Meslier.

Vidigal nearly turned creator in the fifth minute as Ryan Mmaee tested Meslier as Stoke’s bright start continued.

Aside from a misplaced Jordan Thompson pass which they could not capitalise upon, Leeds had very little joy in the final third in the opening stages.

Hoever’s fantastic work on the right led to a dangerous cross for Vidigal but Meslier was once again in the right place, while Mmaee curled over shortly after as Stoke’s onslaught showed no sign of stopping.

Leeds’ first real chance came when Georginio Rutter released Joel Piroe into the box and Mark Travers denied the 26th-minute effort with his legs, before claiming Rutter’s header from the resulting corner.

Stoke’s penalty appeal was waved away by referee Paul Tierney when Mehdi Leris turned and went down under Sam Byram’s challenge on the half-hour.

Mmaee’s endeavour in the box nearly forced an opener in first half stoppage time and Struijk was alert to clear the danger as the ball trickled towards goal.

After the break, Joe Rodon was in the right place to cut out Hoever’s low cross from the right as Stoke continued to threaten, though Jaidon Anthony cut into the box at the other end and curled wide.

Travers was equal to Rutter’s low drive before the hour as Leeds grew in confidence, the Whites striker later firing wide after darting into the box.

Leeds substitute Crysencio Summerville’s first act was to curl a promising effort just wide after 70 minutes.

Bamford won a penalty 15 minutes from time when Ben Pearson brought him down in the box and referee Tierney pointed to the spot, but the striker blasted it over the bar.

And it proved costly as from an 80th minute Hoever corner, Wesley headed against the bar and the ball went in off the unfortunate Struijk for what proved to be the winner.

Alex Neil praised his Stoke side for securing a valuable 2-1 victory over his former employers Sunderland, saying “we needed a bit of optimism”.

First Potters league goals for Ryan Mmaee and Luke McNally either side of Jack Clarke’s leveller secured a first home win since August to help Stoke open up a five-point gap above the relegation zone.

Neil, who left Sunderland last year to take over at Stoke, said: “I am really pleased. We needed the win, irrespective of who we were playing against.

“The [Sunderland] fans were always going to fire a few shots at me, which is fine and I get it.

“But for our lads, the club and our supporters, we needed a bit of optimism, a good performance and certainly three points under our belt.”

Mmaee opened the scoring inside seven minutes but Championship top scorer Clarke equalised for high-flying Sunderland moments later.

The hosts regained the lead shortly after the interval when McNally headed home a deep Daniel Johnson corner.

And, despite a late Black Cats onslaught, Stoke held on to earn only their fourth league win of the campaign.

Neil added: “We’re a team very much in transition and that’s frustrating because the nature of the Championship is you need to win games.

“I think the fans understand where we are as a club; you want your club to win games and you want to be successful and push on up the league.

“But I think we need to recognise where we currently are and that we do have great potential.

“Naturally Sunderland piled pressure on at the end and they’re the best games to win when you really need to dig in, so it’s really satisfying.

“At the end of the day, the proof’s in the pudding and you need to do it on the pitch, but I thought against a really good side, we more than matched them.

“We’ve got some tough games coming up so today was a good day for us.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for the visitors, who were denied a fourth successive away league victory as they slipped to sixth in the table.

The best efforts of Clarke and co could not prevent Sunderland from falling to a second defeat in a row, but they remain in the play-offs.

“It was a frustrating day for us and we didn’t start either half well enough,” said boss Tony Mowbray.

“It’s almost like you need a slap before you react to the fight.

“We talked about trying to be ready for the physical confrontation and we fell a little bit short today in that aspect.

“We created enough chances today not to lose the match but we fell below par for the way we play and what we do.

“Not just for the goals; it looks like a blatant handball the first one and then it’s frustrating for any football team to concede from a corner.

“In our defence, we’ve only had one training day with the team that started today so it’s probably understandable that we weren’t at our fluent best.

“We’re a young team; coming to Stoke City is never easy and they have to learn that intensity, aggression and closing down is all part of the game.

“You either stand up to it and play around it or you succumb, and I think we weren’t brave enough.

“Were they hanging on at the end? Maybe. Should we have scored? Yeah, but we didn’t so it goes in the history books as 2-1 and we have to live with it.”

Stoke secured a first home win since August as they battled for a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Sunderland.

The Potters took an early lead when the returning Ryan Mmaee opened his Sky Bet Championship goal account following a summer switch from Ferencvaros.

But the hosts’ celebrations were cut short when Jack Clarke levelled soon after with his eighth league goal of the season, climbing to the top of the division’s scoring charts in the process.

The half-time instructions of Alex Neil – the former Black Cats boss – proved key as Stoke regained the lead with Luke McNally’s first goal since March 2022.

And Neil’s Sunderland successor Tony Mowbray was a frustrated figure as the visitors failed to avoid a second defeat in a row despite a late onslaught.

Stoke, who sat two points above the drop zone prior to the fixture, started brightly as they looked to return from the international break with a flourish.

And their early dominance was rewarded inside seven minutes when Mmaee – making a first appearance since August due to injury – notched the opener.

An inviting Mehdi Leris flick-on teed up the Morocco international, who finished with aplomb into the far corner for his first Championship goal.

However, the home side’s lead proved short-lived as Sunderland levelled inside four minutes, mainly thanks to a combination of industry and flair courtesy of Jobe Bellingham.

The 18-year-old won possession back before weaving through the Potters’ defence, with his venomous strike parried by Mark Travers fortuitously into the path of Clarke.

An opportunity of that nature was all too inviting for the red-hot Clarke, who obliged and tapped in to become the division’s top scorer outright.

Wouter Burger nearly followed in the footsteps of team-mate Mmaee in notching his first Stoke league goal, but his ambitious effort from range was tipped over.

And Mmaee himself nearly added a second to his tally after the half-hour mark, only for his goal-bound header to be cleared off the line.

The hosts were nearly architects of their own downfall after some calamitous defending, but the opportunistic Abdoullah Ba could only fire into the side netting.

Despite ending the half fortunate to be level, Stoke returned from the interval with the wind in their sails and a spring in their step.

And Neil’s side reassumed control of the tie when Daniel Johnson’s deep corner delivery was nodded home by on-loan Burnley defender McNally for his first Potters strike.

Mowbray attempted to ignite a Sunderland fightback with a triple change after the hour mark, and his switch nearly yielded an immediate reward.

Substitute Bradley Dack’s enticing set-piece was met by a powerful Daniel Ballard header which cannoned off the post.

The 2,590 travelling Sunderland fans tried to rouse their side with Adil Aouchiche and Clarke going closest to an equaliser, but the Black Cats’ efforts were in vain.

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says it will be impossible to keep all of his top players happy this season as he aims to take the club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The Italian coach made six changes against Stoke, in what was his side’s third game in six days.

The move paid off as Leicester recorded their sixth successive Championship win that kept them top of the table.

Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring after 24 minutes before Jamie Vardy came off the bench to wrap up a 2-0 win.

Vardy had started on Wednesday against Preston, with Iheanacho coming off the bench to score.

“That’s why we try to switch them around,” said Maresca. “The other night against Preston, Kele was probably not happy to be on the bench.

“But he came on and was fantastic.

“Here, Jamie was not happy to be on the bench. But he came on and scored, and was happy.

“To be competitive, you need two players for each position so they can compete between them. In the end, we can choose one of them.

“Here we left out Wout Faes, Stephy Mavididi, Wilfred Ndidi, James Justin and Jamie.

“But they cannot think to play 46 games. It’s impossible.

“At the moment, no human being can play every game at the same level.

“Maybe next time, I’ll make six changes, we’ll lose and I’ll be wrong. But we have to make those decisions.”

Maresca accepted that Stoke had been tough to break down, as have a number of visitors to the King Power Stadium.

“We need to improve a lot because we are going to face these kinds of games many times. But we are going in the right direction,” he added.

Stoke manager Alex Neil had nine players missing through injury.

He said he wanted to take the game to Leicester in the second half, but the home side’s strength in depth was difficult to combat.

“If we’d got to half-time at 0-0, our intention was always to try and have a go,” he said.

“You can see why, when you do that, you don’t come here and go toe to toe with Leicester. Particularly when you haven’t got your strongest squad.

“But we had arguably two of the best chances in the game which fell to Nathan Lowe. He’s disappointed, but I said to him afterwards that I’d be more disappointed if they weren’t falling to him.

“If we had a stronger team, we’d get a better feel of where we are compared to them. We had a young side out.

“The minute we changed, they brought on pace at the top end of the pitch.

“Jamie Vardy’s going to cause you all kinds of problems at this level.

“But our set up was good, I don’t think they really had a chance until their goal. That was disappointing from our perspective as Iheanacho was really wide.”

Neil admitted Leicester’s dominance at this level shows no sign of weakening.

“They’ll be one of the best Championship teams in a long time,” he said.

“Just look at the stadium and the fans, and the players they’ve got. They have four internationals who’ve played for England – I don’t remember that happening anywhere else.”

Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy were both on target as Leicester stayed top of the Championship with a 2-0 victory against Stoke at the King Power Stadium.

Iheanacho scored for the third successive game as the dominant Foxes reached the 30-point mark from only 11 games and already have a 10-point cushion to third.

But, once more, Enzo Maresca’s side had to work hard for their victory against stubborn opponents, with injury-hit Stoke providing the league leaders with few chances until the latter stages.

Iheanacho broke the deadlock after 24 minutes but Leicester had to wait until the 79th minute before substitute Vardy netted his fourth league goal of the season from close range.

The result meant the Foxes recorded three home league wins in succession, without conceding, for the first time since April 2017, when Craig Shakespeare was in charge.

Maresca made six changes from Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Preston. That included former Stoke defender Harry Souttar’s first Championship start of the season.

Stoke went into the game missing nine players through injury and their bench contained two goalkeepers and two 16-year-olds.

Stoke made it clear early on that Leicester would have to work hard to break them down.

And the visitors created an early opening of their own when Bae Jun-ho raced to the edge of the area and went down under a challenge from Jannik Vestergaard, but referee Geoff Eltringham dismissed all shouts for a penalty.

Leicester took the lead through Iheanacho’s third goal in as many games.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Ricardo Pereira combined to supply Iheanacho on the left of the Stoke area, and he drove the ball into the far corner before Stoke goalkeeper Mark Travers could react.

Leicester’s command of the game was displayed when the scoreboard showed them having 90 per cent possession at one point.

Stoke had a clear chance to equalise at the start of the second half when Mehdi Leris delivered a cross for Nathan Lowe, but he mistimed his header in front of goal and watched it fly over the bar.

But Leicester almost scored their second goal of the game when Yunus Akgun’s shot from the edge of the area brought an impressive save from Travers.

Leicester eventually extended their lead with substitute Vardy being on the end of an excellent move.

Vardy had only been on the field for three minutes when he was presented with a close-range opportunity after some neat exchanges involving Dewsbury-Hall and Abdul Fatawu before Wilfred Ndidi’s final ball set up the Leicester number nine to score.

Russell Martin hopes Southampton can kick their Sky Bet Championship campaign on again after putting a bad run of form behind them with a 1-0 win over Stoke.

Stuart Armstrong’s first-half free-kick proved the difference at the bet365 Stadium as Saints secured back-to-back victories, while the Potters slipped to their fifth loss in seven Championship games.

The victory in the Potteries followed a 3-1 triumph versus Leeds last Saturday and the successive wins came after a four-game losing run, with Martin hoping their toughest moment of the season has been and gone.

“I think it’s been two of our best performances, tonight I think was probably our best one, our most complete one,” he said.

“I feel like we should have scored a couple more goals and we limited them to very little really, although they threw everything at us in the end.

“To follow up the effort it took on Saturday to come here and such a tough place, a good team with a really excellent manager, to come here and do what we did, I’m really proud of the boys.

“They’re playing for each other, they’re playing for us and the last two games will hopefully come at the end of the toughest moment we’ll have together.

“I think every team has a tough period and ours has come early on after a good start and playing against a really difficult fixture schedule.

“We found a bit of rhythm now and hopefully we can maintain that.”

Alex Neil, while proud of Stoke’s efforts, voiced frustration at key refereeing decisions including Josh Laurent’s foul on Armstrong for the winning free-kick and Nathan Lowe being bundled over by Jan Bednarek after the break which he felt was a penalty.

He said: “I think all you ever ask your team to do and individual players is to give everything they’ve got and I thought we got that.

“I don’t think we can have any complaints in terms of the efforts of the players.

“We got undone by one moment of quality where the ball ends up in the top corner.

“I think certainly if you look at the foul that they get for their goal and you look at the foul in the box, if you’re going to compare both in terms of contact.

“I think if you look at the two directives at the start of the season, one was based around soft contact for fouls and not buying into soft contact, which I thought for the first foul was really soft, and the other was was timewasting, and I didn’t think any of the directives this evening were carried out well enough in terms of the game at all.”

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