Shaqiri and Diouf lead fightback as Stoke City sink rock bottom Swansea City

There is no respite for Paul Clement. A ninth defeat in 12 Premier League matches, on a day when Stoke City appeared to be there for the taking, edges the Swansea City manager closer to the precipice. It is a wretched run of results that leaves Swansea anchored to the bottom of the table and raises serious questions about how much longer the club’s owners are willing to tolerate the sight of the club sliding inexorably towards the Championship without changing the manager.

Stoke, who have also been struggling, were obliging opponents in many ways, yet Swansea never had enough about them to score again after conceding twice in the space of four first-half minutes. Xherdan Shaqiri and Mame Diouf got those goals, punishing some abject Swansea defending after Wilfried Bony had put the visitors ahead. Bony’s goal was his first at club level for 14 months, ironically since he scored two for Stoke against Swansea on just about the only occasion he impressed in the Potteries.

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