adminXHERDAN SHAQIRI scored one of the goals of the season as Stoke earned a thrilling win at Everton through Marko Arnautovic’s injury-time penalty.
The Potters led through Shaqiri early on and after Romelu Lukaku levelled from eight yards, the Swiss looped a stunning half-volley over Tim Howard.
Lukaku struck again after the break and Gerard Deulofeu tapped Everton ahead.
But Joselu volleyed his first Premier League goal and Arnautovic won it after being brought down by John Stones.
Xherdan Shaqiri scored one of the goals of the season as Stoke earned a thrilling win at Everton through Marko Arnautovic’s injury-time penalty.
The Potters led through Shaqiri early on and after Romelu Lukaku levelled from eight yards, the Swiss looped a stunning half-volley over Tim Howard.
Lukaku struck again after the break and Gerard Deulofeu tapped Everton ahead.
But Joselu volleyed his first Premier League goal and Arnautovic won it after being brought down by John Stones.
Stoke kept eight clean sheets in the 11 league games leading up to this win and although their frugal side went missing at Goodison Park, flair at the other end was on show throughout.
Shaqiri’s first from six yards saw the combination of Bojan and Arnautovic craft a sublime team goal, while his second – from a wonderful Bojan pass – saw him reach for the ball and clip it over Tim Howard and into the top corner from 18 yards.
“That’s the best goal I’ve seen this season,” said Final Score pundit Garth Crooks. “He knew exactly what he was doing, it’s absolutely sublime.”
Everton had lost just once in eight league games before kick-off but with no back-to-back wins in the league this season, their fans could be forgiven for wishing their side packed the killer punch Stoke mustered on Merseyside.
Hughes made no changes to his squad despite a 48-hour turnaround from Saturday’s win over Manchester United but the likes of Ibrahim Afellay and Glenn Whelan delivered displays of note, both completing 95% of their passes.
It briefly appeared that substituting Bojan moments before Lukaku pulled a long ball down to fire Everton level at 2-2 would prove key, but after falling behind, Stoke’s fresh legs earned their manager a fifth league win in eight games.
Arnautovic delivered a telling cross for substitute Joselu to smash a smart volley home and picked himself up to slam a penalty down the middle despite slipping before making contact.
It was a fitting reward as no Stoke player completed more sprints than the Austrian’s 54 in the game and although Shaqiri’s brilliance will overshadow such work ethic, the Potters admirably married graft with quality. — BBC Sport
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