Play-off chasing Hull’s poor home form again cost them as second-half goals from Josh Laurent and Ki-Jana Hoever earned relegation-battling Stoke a 2-0 win at the MKM Stadium.
Hull went into the game with seven wins out of 19 at home this season and were on a run of just one win in their last 10 Championship matches at the MKM.
Defeat dropped Hull two places to ninth in the table as the Potters moved five points clear of the drop zone.
Stoke did not start like at team at the wrong end of the table, forcing a corner after a minute, and from their next five minutes later Michael Rose could only steer a low delivery from Sead Haksabanovic wide of goal.
Hull tried to respond but a volley from Anass Zaroury was well off target following a long kick by Ryan Allsop.
Sean McLoughlin headed wide as Hull forced two corners in quick succession and then the defender, in for suspended skipper Jacob Greaves, headed another chance over as the Tigers started to exert more pressure.
Regan Salter’s surging run was ended with a foul by Rose and Zaroury’s free-kick was scrambled clear for a corner just before the half-hour mark, but Alfie Jones headed the delivery well over as both sides struggled to carve out a clear opening.
Stoke captain Laurent was booked for his challenge on Fabio Carvalho and was then warned by referee Graham Scott he risked another after arguing about the caution.
Stoke’s Mehdi Leris headed a free-kick tamely at Allsop with 10 minutes of the half remaining in the only on-target effort of the first half.
Noah Ohio flicked on rather than shooting from a Carvalho low cross and Jones headed a free-kick wide.
At the other end Haksabanovic shot over as Hull struggled to clear from their own area in the final action of a poor first period.
The game desperately needed a spark at the start of the second half but both sides continued to struggle to find a cutting edge.
Ryan Giles again probed down the left as the hour approached but his cross was headed wide by Ohio.
Hull broke through substitute Abdulkadir Omur but when his pass found Jaden Philogene the forward’s shot failed to trouble Daniel Iversen when he had team-mates better placed.
Jordan Thompson shot high and wide after working an opening on the edge of the Hull area but shortly after the visitors went in front from a corner.
Ryan Mmaee headed towards the left post where an unmarked Laurent side-footed home from close range with 21 minutes to go.
Leris forced Allsop into a save to his left, but Omur and Philogene both went close to an equaliser before Hoever fired home Stoke’s second in stoppage time.
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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