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Stoke City vs Huddersfield Town. Premier League.

3:00pm, Saturday 20th January 2018.

Bet365 StadiumAttendance29,785.

Stoke City 2

J Allen (53rd minute)
M Diouf (69th minute)

Stoke 2-0 Huddersfield: Paul Lambert enjoys perfect start as Potters boss

By Ben Grounds

Saturday 20 January 2018 20:07, UK

Paul Lambert made the perfect start as Stoke City manager as goals from Joe Allen and Mame Biram Diouf secured a 2-0 win over Huddersfield at the bet365 Stadium.

After a dour opening half, Stoke broke the deadlock as Maxim Choupo-Moting's low cross was swept in by Allen (53) and victory was assured after Xherdan Shaqiri expertly found Diouf who slotted home via the post 16 minutes later.

Huddersfield offered very little as an attacking threat and were fortunate not to fall further behind as Choupo-Moting blazed over in the closing stages.

The victory moves Stoke out of the relegation zone above Southampton into 17th place while Huddersfield remain 14th having lost their last three league games with Liverpool and Manchester United up next.

Huddersfield manager David Wagner has already recruited Terence Kongolo and Alex Pritchard this month, but he may well look for further reinforcements after another blunt display.

The Terriers offered very little as an attacking force and were fortunate not to go into the break behind as Jonas Lossl distinguished himself with a fine one-handed save to deny Shaqiri after the Swiss had been put clean through by Choupo-Moting.

It was the only chance of note during an opening 45 minutes in which both sides looked shorn of confidence following recent poor runs of form.

Stoke had never lost four consecutive Premier League games without scoring and after Shaqiri correctly had an acrobatic effort ruled out for offside, Lambert's men were rewarded for their more courageous approach.

Charlie Adam released Choupo-Moting on the left and the Cameroon international kept his composure to pick out Allen, who fired low into the net despite a poor attempted clearance from Scott Malone on the line.

Stoke had opportunities to double their lead through Shaqiri and Diouf before the pair combined for the latter to slot beyond Lossl via the post with 21 minutes remaining to the delight of their new manager.

Man of the match: Moritz Bauer

Despite the 3-0 defeat by Manchester United last Monday, Bauer emerged with credit from his Stoke debut having had little time to get to know his new team-mates.

The Austrian's marauding runs caused United problems that night, and the 25-year-old was bombing forward frequently once more as he provided an outlet down the right as well as solidity in defence.

The managers

Paul Lambert: "We never looked like losing a goal and the energy for our goals was outstanding. We dominated the game without being too cutting. I thought the second half we were outstanding.

"The first goal set the tone and the second was just brilliant play.

"The back four were outstanding and the midfield three had terrific energy levels and the front three were a handful throughout the game.

David Wagner: "It's a frustrating result for sure and it's a deserved defeat, even if I can say my players gave everything. We have to be honest and say they were very aggressive and limited our offensive game.

"It's frustrating because of the result even if the effort and attitude was there. We'll try to recover as quickly as we can."

Opta stats

Mame Biram Diouf's goal was his 22nd in the Premier League for Stoke City - making him their joint-third highest goalscorer in the competition (Jonathan Walters 43, Peter Crouch 43, Marko Arnautovic 22).
Paul Lambert earned his first win as Premier League manager in 11 games - since his Aston Villa side beat Leicester 2-1 in December 2014.
The Potters kept their first clean sheet in the Premier League since October (1-0 at Watford), having conceded 30 goals in their 13 previous games.
The Terriers are now winless in six Premier League games, losing each of the last three in a row (D3).
Joe Allen has had a hand in four goals in his last five Premier League games (2 goals, 2 assists), as many as in his previous 43 combined.

What's next?

Stoke welcome Watford at the bet365 Stadium on January 31, while Huddersfield now turn their attention to the FA Cup fourth-round tie with Birmingham next Saturday.

David Wagner's men may well have greater priorities with Liverpool visiting the John Smith's Stadium on January 30.