Stoke City 0 West Brom 2
Matt Phillips and substitute Hal Robson-Kanu fired West Brom back to the top of the Championship as struggling Stoke remain rooted to the bottom after a disappointing 2-0 defeat.
Midfielder Phillips’s sixth goal of the season gave the Baggies a sixth-minute lead and Robson-Kanu’s second-half penalty ensured they comfortably avoided an upset at the bet365 Stadium and leap-frogged Preston at the summit.
Scotland international Phillips was never going to miss from close-range for his second goal in as many games as Slaven Bilic’s promotion-hungry side stretched their unbeaten run to five games.
And Robson-Kanu's third goal in four matches inflicted an 11th defeat in 15 games on Stoke who, only three days ago, sacked manager Nathan Jones after a miserable start to the season. They are now six points adrift of safety.
