Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Bristol City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday | Million Manhoef scores twice as Steven Schumacher's Potters secure crushing home win
Saturday 4 May 2024 16:06, UK
Stoke's impressive run of form continued as they ended the season in style with a 4-0 hammering of Bristol City in the Sky Bet Championship.
The Potters, who confirmed their safety with victory over Southampton last weekend, picked up a third successive win for the first time since October.
First half strikes from Luke Cundle, Tyrese Campbell and Million Manhoef sent the hosts firmly on their way to all three points.
And Manhoef struck his second after the interval with the pick of the bunch, arcing a delightful effort from range beyond a helpless Max O'Leary.
The travelling Robins, who were unbeaten in seven games under Liam Manning prior to this contest, fell to their heaviest defeat since January 2022.
Stoke continued where they left off on the south coast with Bae Junho - winner of the club's Player of the Season Award - coming close to sourcing an early opener.
However, it was Bristol City who had the ball in the back of the net first with Scott Twine adding the finishing touch to an intricate move, only to be flagged for offside.
The hosts' bright start was eventually rewarded before the half hour mark when alert Wolves loanee Cundle poked home beyond an onrushing O'Leary.
An entertaining opening period ensued and the Robins should have levelled soon after but the feet of Daniel Iversen denied Twine to preserve Stoke's slender lead.
Influential South Korean youngster Junho then rattled the crossbar as Steven Schumacher's side attempted to turn the screw.
And it was not long until the Potters' persistence bore fruit again with a quickfire double before the break tightening their control on the tie.
The out-of-contract Campbell notched his second in as many games as he rifled a fierce effort from a tight angle into the top corner.
And January recruit Manhoef added a third roughly 60 seconds later, finishing into the roof of the net moments prior to the interval.
Stoke showed no signs of slowing after the restart and soon notched their fourth of the afternoon - their most in a single fixture since the opening day of the campaign.
Manhoef collected the ball on the edge of the box and set his sights from 25 yards, curling a pinpoint effort in for a fourth goal in six appearances.
Twine again came close to a consolation for the visitors but he failed to convert from Ross McCrorie's accurate cross.
The lively Cundle, who added two assists to his first half opener, then nearly completed a brace - only to see his strike cannon off the crossbar.
Ultimately, it proved to be another step in the right direction for Schumacher's Potters, who ended the season with only one defeat in eight games.
Meanwhile, Andy King made an appearance from the Robins' bench as the Premier League winner called an end to his 17-year career.
Stoke's Steven Schumacher:
"If we could play like that every week, that'd be good.
"It's a good performance and a nice way to end the season; we didn't take them (Bristol City) lightly and they're in brilliant form.
"I'm delighted that the season's ending - we need a break, but the last few performances have been good.
"It was important to continue that momentum and the team's picked itself because of how good the performances have been.
"Everyone's played their part and it was a whole team effort and it's a good way to end the season.
"I know the task we've got on for the summer; we need to get the recruitment right and make sure everyone's on the same page.
"We have to draw a line under this season and work as hard as possible to get the right people in the building.
"We should be doing better than where we are now. If I can get my message across to the recruitment team, then I think we'll be all right.
"This league has been really strong this year; it's been a hard season, but we've just about done enough.
"But for this club, this shouldn't be what we're striving for and that's certainly not what I'm here for."
Bristol City's Liam Manning:
"It was really out of character and nothing what we've been like in the previous seven games.
"We rightly so went one behind and then we completely imploded in the last three minutes of the first half.
"To go in at 1-0 is very different from going in at 3-0, so the second half becomes too big of a challenge.
"Sloppiness is a lack of focus; the players are honest and none of the lads want to perform at that level.
"It wasn't intentional, we compounded a mistake by following it with another one and didn't do the basics well.
"We don't want to lose in that manner but at least we can send the lads away and say 'that can't happen again'.
"That's the motivation to come back for day one of pre-season and make sure we're not anywhere near that level again on a bad day.
"It was a disappointing end but I don't want it to cloud all the progress that has been made.
"You have to look at the bigger picture; we've moved up the division and got more points than last year in probably one of the hardest Championships.
"We've got some hugely talented players and we've got to add to that now."
