Muniesa winner sends Stoke through
Marc Muniesa proved the unlikely hero as Stoke came from behind to record a 2-1 victory at Sunderland to book a place in the Capital One Cup fourth-round draw.
The full-back, who had never before scored for the Potters, struck twice at the Stadium of Light to dump last season's beaten finalists out of the competition.
The Black Cats had got off to a flying start when Jozy Altidore, who had scored only twice in his previous 44 appearances for the club, produced a neat turn and powerful finish to give his side a 16th-minute lead.
But the visitors were back on level terms within quarter of an hour when Marc Muniesa took full advantage of the latest in a series of enterprising runs by Oussama Assaidi to level with his first goal for the club.
Mark Hughes' men might have found themselves reduced to 10 within minutes when midfielder Steven Nzonzi reacted furiously to a challenge by Jack Rodwell and literally took matters into his own hands.
The Frenchman grabbed his opposite number by the throat prompting an ugly melee, although referee Mike Dean saw fit only to caution both men after restoring order.
With the two sides locked together in front of a crowd of 17,353, Will Buckley seemed certain to restore the home side's lead with a 62nd-minute volley, which was acrobatically turned away by City keeper Jack Butland.
Buckley might have won it seconds later after being played in by Adam Johnson, but Butland was equal to the task once again.
However, the dangerous Assaidi forced a 71st-minute save from keeper Costel Pantilimon and from the resulting corner, Muniesa secured Stoke's passage.
The full-back barged his way past Johnson after the set-piece was cleared and with the men in red and white appealing in vain for a foul, he thumped a rising shot into the roof of the net.
Source: PA
