Mark Hughes hails Stoke's Joe Allen and Marko Arnautovic after Crystal Palace win

Mark Hughes paid tribute to Marko Arnautovic and Joe Allen for adapting to different roles after Stoke's win over Crystal Palace.

Allen scored his sixth Premier League goal of the season, his highest-ever tally in the top flight, to hand Stoke a 1-0 victory at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday and send the Potters into the top half of the table.

Hughes opted to bring Ramadan Sobhi back into the starting line-up following his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning Arnautovic switched from his preferred left-forward role to the right flank to accommodate the 20-year-old.

Arnautovic combined with Sobhi to help set up Allen's winner, though, and Hughes was keen to point out the Austria international's overlooked qualities.

"That side (defensive qualities) of his game is sometimes underestimated," Hughes told Sky Sports. "I moved him over to the right side to accommodate Ramadan, even though he prefers the left side, and I thought he did very well.

"He fully understood. I explained it to him and thought he could be effective for us there. There would be opportunities for him and that proved to be the case. Obviously he's more comfortable on the left, but he always affects games.

"Sometimes managers and fans will pull their hair out, more often than not he's involved in all the good things we do."

Allen is another Stoke player who has flourished in a new role, having been played further forward in the No 10 position under Hughes.

Wales international Allen scored four goals in three Premier League games between September and October, and after adding his first since mid-December on Saturday, Hughes believes more will follow.

Live Nissan Super Sunday

"We were getting a good return of goals from him," said Hughes. "He's got that aptitude to anticipate things and understand where the ball is going to drop.

"He just had a little period where things weren't quite running for him so that will get him back on track. It was a great finish for the goal."

Hughes believes his side were deserving of their victory over Palace, but was grateful for his impressive attackers for securing the points.

"It was a hard fought win," he added. "Clearly we had the better chances and the majority of the play but we needed that breakthrough.

"It was a great ball from Marko, great set up play from Ramadan and a great finish from Joe.

"We always felt we could take the game and see it through to a conclusion."