James McClean hit the only goal of the game as Stoke returned to winning ways against Rotherham. McClean lobbed Jamal Blackman from the edge of the box after United failed to deal with Angus Gunn's goal-kick on 27 minutes.
It ended a decent spell of pressure for the hosts which saw Tyrese Campbell and McClean both have chances. Michael Miller was inches away from an equaliser after he shot on to the roof of the net five minutes later.
But Stoke never looked like surrendering their lead during a lacklustre second-half which saw both sides struggle to create any clear chances.
Meanwhile, Swansea climbed to second in the league with a 2-0 home victory over Blackburn.
Reading’s defeat to Coventry on Friday opened the door for the chasing pack to close the gap, and goals in each half from Ben Cabango and Andre Ayew saw the Welsh club move to within four points of the early pacesetters.
The victory also lifted the Swans above Bournemouth, who had to rely on an 81st-minute Rodrigo Riquelme equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to Derby.
Graeme Shinnie had given the Rams a first-half lead, but Riquelme’s leveller preserved the English Football League’s last remaining unbeaten run.
Teemu Pukki netted a first-half double to lead Norwich to a deserved 3-1 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
There were only six minutes on the clock when Pukki struck for the first time, before a deflected effort doubled his tally eight minutes later.
Jack Hunt pulled a goal back for Bristol City within a minute, but Emi Buendia slotted past Dan Bentley in first-half stoppage time to re-establish the advantage.
The Canaries sit level on points with Bournemouth, one ahead of Middlesbrough, who moved into the play-off positions after Marvin Johnson's 81st-minute strike secured a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Wycombe finally secured their first win of the season as they overcame the absence of manager Gareth Ainsworth to beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 — David Wheeler netting in first-half stoppage time.
Ainsworth was watching the game from a hospital after undergoing back surgery on Friday.
QPR got the better of a thriller against Cardiff at Loftus Road, with Dominic Ball's 25-yard strike in stoppage time securing a 3-2 win after two goals from Joe Ralls had hauled the Bluebirds back from 2-0 down.
It was a first win in eight matches for Rangers.
Defeats for Millwall and Watford, meanwhile, saw them drop out of the top six.
Millwall, whose entire first-team coaching staff are self-isolating following positive tests for manager Gary Rowett and two other staff members, were thumped 3-0 at home by Huddersfield, with Josh Koroma, Pipa and Lewis O'Brien all on target.
Watford's loss came at the hands of Barnsley, who triumphed 1-0 at Oakwell thanks to Alex Mowatt's stunning early effort.
Brentford were 3-0 winners at Luton. Rico Henry, Ivan Toney and Marcus Forss all found the net at Kenilworth Road.
In the day's remaining fixture, Gary Gardner stepped off the bench to bag an 85th-minute winner as Birmingham beat Preston 2-1 at Deepdale.
