Friend, Boro come up empty at Stoke as pressure mounts on Karanka

A Marko Arnautovic brace was enough for Stoke to comfortably see off an underwhelming Middlesbrough.Middlesbrough's woes continue with relegation seeming ever more likely after a lacklustre display at the bet365 Stadium. Despite fielding a positive-looking lineup, Aitor Karanka's men barely turned up in the first half and struggled to compete in the middle of the park. When Ben Gibson's goal was ruled out for offside midway through the second half, another Boro defeat looked cut and dried, and Stoke barely needed to step out of second gear to collect all three points.

Positives

Left-back Fabio was strong while his counterpart on the right, George Friend, struggled against a rampant Marko…