Swansea eased any lingering relegation concerns by beating Stoke 3-0 to leave the Potters hovering perilously above the Championship drop zone.

Liam Cullen poked Jamie Paterson’s cross beyond Daniel Iversen to put Swansea ahead in the 19th minute before Matt Grimes doubled the hosts’ lead after 53 minutes with a penalty after Luke McNally tripped Ollie Cooper.

Josh Key capped off a fine victory for Luke Williams’ men with his second goal of the campaign after 73 minutes as Swansea claimed a first win in four, ending Stoke’s three-game unbeaten run and leaving them three points above the bottom three.

The Swans started on the front foot as former Stoke defender Josh Tymon teed up Jay Fulton who drilled well wide.

The hosts should have gone ahead in the 13th minute as Paterson left Ki-Jana Hoever spinning before picking out Fulton who could only rifle against the post from 10 yards.

But Swansea did take the lead soon after following a quickly taken free-kick.

Captain Grimes fed Paterson who had acres of space to cross to Cullen who poked home his seventh of the season from close range.

Cullen had a chance to double his side’s lead moments later when Grimes intercepted Michael Rose’s wayward clearance, although the Welshman could only volley over from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Stoke struggled to threaten in the torrid south Wales rain, with Wouter Burger heading wide from Million Manhoef’s corner just before the half-hour mark.

The Potters thought they had equalised in bizarre fashion just seconds later though when Rose chipped into the Swansea box.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth gathered the ball before losing control after an unintentional collision with Niall Ennis who duly poked into the net, although the goal was swiftly disallowed by referee Keith Stroud.

After a slow start, Steven Schumacher’s men found a foothold in the contest, with Manhoef flashing an effort wide.

And they spurned a fine chance to level proceedings in the dying seconds of the first half when Ennis played Manhoef through on goal, although Harry Darling recovered to force the Dutchman to fire wide from an acute angle.

They were ruthlessly punished for not taking their chances as Swansea doubled their lead with a penalty after the break.

McNally tripped Cooper on the edge of the area, and Grimes stepped up to rifle into the roof of the net from the spot.

Cullen almost got his second of the night from a well-worked corner routine minutes later, although his deflected effort trickled inches wide.

But Swansea got their third late on as Jamal Lowe danced up the left wing, teeing up Key whose first touch took him beyond Rose before unleashing a fierce effort into the net.

Stoke secured a vital victory in their fight for survival as they defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 but remain in the Championship relegation zone.

A Bae Jun-ho strike before the interval – his second goal in as many games – set the Potters on their way.

And Lewis Baker added the finishing touch to a well-worked corner routine to secure a rare home win.

With the mounting threat of a first relegation to the third tier since 1998, Stoke rose to the occasion to secure just a second win in eight games and relieve pressure on boss Steven Schumacher.

Meanwhile, Boro fell to a fourth defeat in five games.

Stoke, who entered the match in the relegation zone for the first time this season, were given a “call to arms” by Jonathan Walters pre-match.

But the interim technical director’s rallying cry was nearly undone as Middlesbrough raced out of the gates.

Boro should have taken the lead inside three minutes when Riley McGree was found in the box but goalkeeper Daniel Iversen did well to race out and smother the forward.

Despite the early warning sign, the Potters gradually found their rhythm and they also spurned a glorious opportunity to snatch an early advantage.

An intricate Stoke attack ended with Jun-ho teeing up the onrushing Million Manhoef but the January recruit from Vitesse could only blaze over the target.

An end-to-end Basketball-style first half unfolded and again Michael Carrick was left ruing a sequence of missed chances.

Emmanuel Latte Lath – making his first start since December due to injury – rounded Iversen and had an open goal at his mercy but Michael Rose blocked on the line.

The Potters looked to capitalise before the interval with Seny Dieng called to action to deny Niall Ennis’ nodded header.

And the hosts’ persistence was rewarded prior to the break with an opener courtesy of the in-form Jun-ho.

The South Korean youngster shrugged off the challenge of Luke Ayling, advanced powerfully and fired a low effort beyond Dieng to rouse a vocal home support.

Stoke continued to dictate terms after the restart.

And they should have doubled their advantage when Daniel Barlaser was caught sleeping inside his own area.

A lively Baker pickpocketed the Boro midfielder and teed up Josh Laurent in the six-yard box but Dieng stood strong to keep the tie within reach.

However, the former made amends for his indecision when he eased the local faithful’s nerves with the Potters’ second inside 70 minutes.

A corner routine off the training ground ended with a drilled Baker shot deflecting off Matt Clarke beyond a wrongfooted Dieng, confirming a crucial Stoke win.