Stoke ends losing run with 3-1 league win at Bournemouth

“We had some really good chances we did not take”.

Shaqiri fired three shots and tallied on assist in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

Bournemouth top the league’s running stats but perhaps their industry finally caught up with them as they showed signs of torpor here. Bournemouth struggled to compete in the game but Matt Ritchie’s consolation goal just before the hour mark led to an exciting finish to the game as the Cherries pushed on to try and achieve a much-needed draw. “We conceded from nothing and that dented our confidence”, Eddie Howe, the manager, said of Imbula’s early goal.

“He’s a top-quality player”.

Imbula’s was one of a number of impressive performances as Hughes’s side dominated for long periods.

Bournemouth host Stoke City at Dean Court on Saturday trading as bet365’s 21/20 favourites to give their chances of securing a second season in the Premier League a real boost by keeping all three points on the South Coast. It turned out to be a great substitution as only a matter of minutes later Joselu’s head found the ball in the area to put the Potters 3-0 up.

The Canaries, who had lost five successive games to plummet into the bottom three, went ahead through a fine curling effort from Robbie Brady on 54 minutes before Wes Hoolahan doubled their advantage from close range on 65 minutes.

Despite being injured since September, Callum Wilson remains the club’s top scorer with five goals and though Benik Afobe has made a promising start to his career on the South Coast, he had little involvement in this match.

The Cherries’ boss believes his side, especially his new recruits, are becoming fitter but Tommy Elphick, who played a game behind closed doors in midweek, will not be back in time to face Stoke.