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.
PSV crowned Eredivise champions for the first time in six years
PSV secured the Eredivisie title for the 25th time in the club’s history with a 4-2 win over Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday, ending a six-year wait for a title.
They needed just one point to make sure of top spot with two games to spare, with this victory moving them 12 points clear of Arne Slot’s Feyenoord in second.
Peter Bosz’s side have enjoyed a dominant campaign, scoring an impressive 107 goals, and conceding just 19 on their way to the title.
PSV had to come from behind after Metinho’s early goal for Rotterdam but fought back through Said Bakari and Johan Bakayoko’s own goal.
Despite being pegged back by an own goal by Olivier Boscagli, PSV rallied in the second half, with the defender atoning for his error before Jordan Teze made sure of the points.
PSV are the second-most successful club in Eredivisie history, behind only Ajax, who hold 36 titles.
Rangers 4-1 Kilmarnock: Gers come from behind to keep pressure on Celtic
Rangers came from behind to beat 10-man Kilmarnock 4-1 at Ibrox on Sunday to keep the pressure on Scottish Premiership title rivals Celtic.
After Celtic thumped Hearts 3-0 on Saturday, it looked like the Bhoys' title charge could receive a further boost when James Tavernier put through his own net with 12 minutes gone at Ibrox after Liam Polworth's cross was nudged back across goal by Matty Kennedy.
However, Kilmarnock's Joe Wright was sent off for handling Dujon Sterling's goalbound effort shortly after, and though Tavernier's resulting spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Will Dennis, Rangers did get themselves back on level terms deep into first-half stoppage time as Fabio Silva turned home John Lundstram's cross.
Ben Davies then bundled the hosts into the lead with 62 minutes on the clock after Dennis fumbled Lundstram's long-range effort into the defender's path, before substitute Tom Lawrence extended Rangers' lead with a delightful strike from outside the box.
John Souttar sealed the win in the dying seconds with a close-range header, moving Rangers three points behind Celtic ahead of the crucial Old Firm next Saturday.
Ronaldo delivers another hat-trick as Al Nassr ease past Al Wedha
Cristiano Ronaldo crafted a decisive hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Wedha 6-0 in Saturday's Saudi Pro League meeting.
Portugal veteran Ronaldo found the net twice in the first 12 minutes at Al Awal Park before completing his treble after the interval.
Sadio Mane teed up Ronaldo's third finish, as well as an 18th-minute strike from Otavio, who returned the favour for the Senegal international to score on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Al Fatil added a late sixth as Al Nassr recorded their seventh straight league win since their March 7 loss against Al Raed, moving them back within nine points of leaders Al Hilal.
Jorge Jesus's Al Hilal swept Al Tauwoon aside in a 3-0 away triumph on Friday for their fourth straight victory across all competitions.
Talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Alsherhi wrapped up a win that kept Al Hilal in charge of the title race.
There was no such fortune for fifth-placed Al Ittihad as they fell to a third straight defeat in all competitions after a 3-1 loss away against Abha.
Jota levelled after Grzegorz Krychowiak's 57th-minute penalty, only for Hassan Al-Ali and Fabian Noguera to power hosts Abha to a comfortable win.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
