Reaction from the bet365 Stadium and Stoke City’s 2-0 defeat to Southampton
14:33, 31 Jan 2026Updated 14:43, 31 Jan 2026
Flynn Downes of Southampton scores against Stoke City(Image: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock)
Stoke City were well off the pace as they slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Southampton.
Finn Azaz gave Southampton an early lead when the visitors eased behind Stoke’s defence and he tapped in a low cross from Tom Fellows. They got their second early in the second half when Flynn Downes scrambled home from a corner after dreadful marking.
It is an understatement to say Stoke were nowhere near their best. This was one of their most lacklustre performances of the season and ended with a deserved loss, a sixth at the bet365 Stadium so far this season.
They had a chance to get back into the Championship top six with a win but, unless they can emphatically turn around their form at headquarters they are in danger of too many teams going too far over the horizon.
FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel
Milan Smit actually created a decent opening in the first minute, winning a header on the left that created a load of space for Thomas to sprint into. Smit bombed up the pitch to join him but Thomas took a touch too many as he got into the box, rather than square it, and ended up running into a defender. That seemed to set the tone.
The visitors took the lead in the 10th minute. Taylor Harwood-Bellis played an excellent pass that caught Eric Bocat ball watching and allowed Fellows to race inside to the by-line and square for Azaz. It was a simple tap-in. Fellows had given Bocat the run around with West Brom last season and shouldn’t have needed a reminder to be on alert.
Simkin soon had to save from the winger after he had run behind Bocat again.
Southampton keeper Dan Peretz got away with miscontrolling a back pass when he just about recovered to touch it away from pressing Smit and he pulled off a strong save when Junho had made a shooting chance for himself just outside the area.
Azaz was booked for a dive dive in the penalty area – even if Phillips had asked for trouble by hanging out a leg. Ross Stewart had actually got away with a handball in the build-up.
But Stoke fans were getting frustrated and anxious by a side that just wasn’t really clicking through the first half. There was still one big chance before the break when overlapping Bocat’s cross was fumbled by Peretz – but Junho horribly miscued.
Robins responded by making a triple substitution at half-time. Talovierov, Nzonzi and Rigo were hooked, with Wilmot, Ben Pearson and Tatsuki Seko sent on with a task of shifting the team up about five gears.
Instead, Southampton were 2-0 up by the 52nd minute. The visitors broke too easily through the Stoke team to win a corner – and the corner was horribly defended. Bocat was marking Downes at the back post but completely lost him as Downes made a step forward – to the point where he couldn’t even react when Downes initially struggled to control before tapping in.
Stoke’s reaction was muted. It took until the 71st minute to have their first shot of the second half – and that was a Phillips header from a Thomas free-kick which drifted wide.
Favour Fawunmi was given a run out for the final 15 minutes and immediately showed that just a little bit of urgency could make something happen, winning a free-kick just outside the area when his tenacity sparked a lazy foul from Shea Charles. Not that it mattered, as Stoke were offside from the free-kick.
Seko hit the foot of the post when he spotted Peretz out of position and attempted what was almost a pass towards the bottom right corner. Fawunmi skinned Charles to go into the box from the right and tries his luck from a tight angle, seeing his shot deflected out for a corner. Phillips headed that over the bar. This was not Stoke’s day.
Here are the player ratings from the bet365 Stadium.
Simkin: Claimed ball under pressure at times but will think he might have stopped the second goal. 6
Lawal: Returned to centre-half. Out of position for opening goal and shifted to right-back for second half. Not at his best. 4
Bocat: Caught ball watching too often and struggled again with Fellows. Horror show on first and second goals. Possesses a decent cross. 2.5
Phillips: Good block early on but got away with wangling a leg in the box at Azaz. Wore his frustration pretty visibly. Could do with chipping in at corners. 5.5
Talovierov: A little unsettled as he switched back to right-back, left too much space and hooked at half-time. 5
Nzonzi: Midfield struggled to get to grips with the game on or off the ball in the first half. 5
Rigo: Moved into a deeper role. Couldn’t get involved enough and too untidy when he did. 5
Junho: Ran a bit in first half and forced decent save although he miscued a good chance just before break. 5
Cisse: Back out on the wing and couldn’t force his way into the game bar winning a few headers. 5
Thomas: Struggled to make an impact and crosses couldn’t find a teammate. 5
Smit: Straight in to lead the line. Bloody mouth introduction to the Championship and barely had any service. 5.5
Substitutes
Wilmot (for Talovierov, 46): Thrown on to try to get a grip of a sloppy defence but game almost immediately fizzled out. 5.5
Pearson (for Nzonzi, 46): Couldn’t help Stoke get on top in midfield. 5
Seko (for Rigo, 46): Hit the post with a surprise shot. Tried some over ambitious passes. 5.5
Fawunmi (for Junho, 77): Injected a little bit of desire and showed a dash of skill. 7
Not used: Fielding, Cresswell, Gibson, Smith, Curley.
Referee: Farai Hallam (Surrey) 6
Your verdict? Click HERE to join the debate
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
£49
£35
Sky
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
We have launched a new WhatsApp group to deliver the latest Stoke news directly to your phone. Click the link select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in. If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave at any time by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking ‘Exit Group’, simple as that.
Every day, the StokeonTrentLive football desk strive to deliver news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Stoke City content.
Our dedicated reporter Pete Smith – who you can follow on X – follows Stoke home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
With so much going on, we send out a daily free Stoke City newsletter which you can sign up for – and means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox.
If you prefer reading our Stoke stories on your phone, consider downloading the Stoke-on-TrentLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Stoke City as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple