Sunderland 1-3 Stoke: Arnautovic brace, Crouch header sees off struggling Black Cats

A Marko Arnautovic brace and a Peter Crouch header secured a 3-1 win for Stoke over a disappointing Sunderland.

Arnautovic's two goals in the space of seven first-half minutes was enough for the Potters to kill off any real chance of a Sunderland fightback before Peter Crouch scored just 13 minutes later.

Jermain Defoe, with his 12th goal of the season, pulled one back as the first half was drawing to a close, but David Moyes' side could do no more real damage in the second half.

The result means Sunderland move down to 19th while Stoke sit in ninth, two points behind West Brom.

Sunderland began the game without 11 first-team players, and their lack of depth was evident to see as manager David Moyes decided to set his side out in a 3-4-3 formation.

A hip injury meant Stoke were without Bojan but Joe Allen, Charlie Adam and Glenn Whelan returned to Mark Hughes' starting line-up.

The first half began in an open fashion, with Stoke keen to exploit the flanks, and it took the Potters just 15 minutes to find their first goal of the match.

A long ball from Shaqiri picked out Arnautovic on the left, whose first shot was saved by the trailing foot of Vito Mannone, before the ball rebounded straight back into the feet of the Austrian who, second time around, smashed the ball into the roof of the goal.

With Sunderland pushing more men forward for an equaliser, Stoke swiftly went 2-0 up thanks to a stunning team goal.

Arnautovic played a one-two with Shaqiri to weave through a packed Sunderland defence before playing another give-and-go with the lively Crouch. The Austria international was then able to curl the ball past Mannone to cap off one of the finest goals of Stoke's season.

And 10 minutes later, Crouch turned from creator to provider after getting on the receiving end of an excellent cross from Adam from the left.

The 35-year-old beat a flapping Mannone to the ball and simply nodded his attempt in to further add to Sunderland’s defensive woes, and, for himself, his third goal in his last three Premier League matches.

Despite hundreds of Sunderland fans pouring out of the stadium and a good chance missed by Jack Rodwell, Defoe was able to pull a goal back. He sprinted onto a long ball and, one-on-one with Lee Grant, slipped the ball past the goalkeeper in off the post.

The second half began slowly with Sunderland looking to mount a second-half comeback. A good attempt from Borini in the 47th minute forced Grant into a smart reflex save, while Rodwell fluffed a great opportunity to make the scoreline 3-2 just moments later from just six-yards out.

As the half progressed, Stoke began sitting deeper and allowed Sunderland to dictate the tempo of the match.

Moyes had little options to turn to on his bench, perhaps supporting his decision not to make a subsitute. And his side were unable to force Grant into any real action as Black Cats fans continued to filter out long before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Sunderland: Mannone (4), Love (3), Van Aanholt (5), Djilobodji (5), O’Shea (5), Denayer (4), Rodwell (4), Larsson (4), Januzaj (6), Borini (6), Defoe (7)

Subs: N/A

Stoke: Grant (6), Johnson (6), Shawcross (6), Martins Indi (7), Pieters (6), Whelan (6), Adam (6), Shaqiri (9), Allen (7), Arnautovic (9), Crouch (8)

Subs: Afellay (6), Ngoy (7)

Man of the Match: Marko Arnautovic