Tony Mowbray’s unbeaten start to life as Birmingham boss continued with an impressive 2-1 win at Stoke.
Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield handed the visitors a dream opening when he fired in an eighth league goal of the season after 10 minutes.
The Potters, who were unbeaten since Steven Schumacher’s appointment last month, reacted positively but struggled to create clear chances.
Mowbray’s outfit began the second period in similar fashion to the first as Juninho Bacuna’s exquisite free-kick doubled their lead.
The home side teed up an intriguing finish to the tie when Jordan Thompson halved their arrears, but Blues held on for a crucial three points.
Stoke, who were unbeaten in five league games, started brightly and should have opened the scoring inside eight minutes.
John Ruddy parried a troubling Wouter Burger volley only as far as Bae Jun-ho, but the South Korea youth international could only fire the rebound into the side netting.
The hosts were immediately punished as Birmingham landed a sucker-punch on the counter through their leading marksman.
Koji Miyoshi’s through ball was latched on to by Stansfield, who shrugged off the challenge of Luke McNally to fire in an emphatic opener.
The Potters responded brightly to their early setback and should have levelled to cap off a frenetic first quarter of an hour.
Ryan Mmaee sprung the offside trap and raced through on goal, but his shot was saved well by the imposing Ruddy.
Then it was the turn of forward partner Andre Vidigal to go close, yet his guided effort dropped narrowly wide of the far post.
Only Exeter have scored fewer home league goals in the EFL than Stoke’s tally of 10 this season, and that wastefulness in the final third was on show again.
The hosts struggled to make their dominance count and Michael Rose spurned the chance of the half when he failed to convert from point-blank range.
At the opposite end, a bright Stansfield nearly notched his second of the afternoon before the interval, but he miscued his strike following a Daniel Iversen save.
The England Under-21 forward’s blushes were saved shortly after the restart thanks to a moment of brilliance courtesy of Bacuna.
The Curacao international stepped up from 25 yards and curled a delicious free-kick straight into the top corner beyond a helpless Iversen.
Again, Stoke rallied in their pursuit of a response with Jun-ho lifting an effort on to the crossbar and substitute Tyrese Campbell also going close.
The hosts’ persistence was eventually rewarded when Thompson bundled in his side’s first home league goal from open play since October 25.
But a late onslaught proved to be in vain for Schumacher’s side, who failed to repeat a 3-1 victory from the reverse fixture on Boxing Day.
'If they want me, I will stay' - Fernandes on Man Utd future
Bruno Fernandes says he will stay at Manchester United if the club wants him to be part of their future.
As the transfer window draws closer, the United captain is reportedly attracting interest from several Saudi Pro League clubs and Bayern Munich.
Fernandes, who joined the Red Devils from Sporting CP in January 2020, has two years left on his current contract after signing an extension in 2022.
Speaking to Sky Sports after their 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Wednesday, Fernandes stated his commitment to the club.
"If they want me, I will stay," he said. "I will be here until... I said the club needs to want me.
"I feel that the club wants me to be a part of the future, so, as I said always, I don't want to be a player that the club doesn't want to have."
Fernandes has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season and got his 12th assist when he picked out Rasmus Hojlund for United’s third goal against Newcastle.
Erik ten Hag had already expressed his confidence that the Portugal international would stay at the club, and he reiterated that upon hearing about Fernandes’ post-match comments.
"Absolutely the club wants to keep Bruno. There's no question, I think," Ten Hag said.
"He gives always his best. He's an example, even with injuries he's playing. He loves football, but he wants to win.
"I'm very pleased with his performances across the season because for him, it's not easy when so many players are injured around him and every time, he has to carry the team."
Winning is in Juventus' DNA, says Allegri after Coppa Italia triumph
Massimiliano Allegri said that winning is in Juventus' DNA after the Bianconeri clinched the Coppa Italia title.
Dusan Vlahovic's goal proved enough for Juve to overcome Atalanta in Wednesday's final.
It marks Juve's first trophy since they won the Coppa in the 2020-21 season, when Cristiano Ronaldo was still at the club.
Juve still need one more win from their last two Serie A fixtures to guarantee Champions League qualification, but Allegri believes he has laid solid foundations this season, with his future still up in the air.
"Very happy for the boys, they brought joy to the club, to the fans and to me. Winning is never easy, but it is in our DNA," said Allegri, who became the first coach in history to win the Coppa Italia five times.
"If I am no longer the Juventus coach next year, I will leave a strong team. The club will make its evaluations."
Goalscorer Vlahovic says the target for next season is clear.
"I find it difficult to speak, I can only thank everyone," he told Mediaset.
"We know the difficulties we faced, in the end we achieved the objectives set at the beginning of the year. I'm sorry for the Scudetto, but Inter deservedly won it.
"We are very happy, but next year we must aim to win everything. Juventus' DNA requires this."
Juve have won six of the last eight Coppa Italia finals they have featured in, including their last two, both against Atalanta.
Ten Hag sees positives from Man Utd's season as he vows to bring FA Cup back to Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag is taking the positives from Manchester United's season, as he aims to win the FA Cup.
United have endured a difficult campaign, though they kept their European qualification hopes alive by beating Newcastle United 3-2 on Wednesday at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag took the microphone to speak to the fans after full-time, saying: "You are the best supporters in the world. Thanks for your support.
"I promise you that those players will give everything to get the cup and bring it to Old Trafford."
United face rivals Manchester City at Wembley on May 25, and speaking to reporters, Ten Hag – whose future is uncertain – sees no reason not to take some positives from the campaign.
"I see the positives, I see that this team is developing, I know the reasons why we are not performing," Ten Hag said.
"No team will perform when the whole back four is not available, across the season.
"Even striker Rasmus Hojlund, three times injured, [Marcus] Rashford, also injured, so we have had our problems across the season and that has a negative impact on the results.
"You see players performing and you see players progressing like the youngsters and that is very positive, there is a high potential in this club.
"So, there are also many positives in this season, but I can't mention this. You know why. At the end of the day, we have to win trophies. And in the Premier League, and in the Champions League, we didn't perform what people expect from us."
United sit eighth on 57 points, level with Newcastle but three behind sixth-placed Chelsea. The Red Devils face Brighton in their final game of the season on Sunday.
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