Robinho's first goal came fourteen minutes into the match on a slick feed from Wales international Ched Evans which he quickly struck to the back of the net from ten meters. Stoke fought back and threatened City 'keeper Joe Hart with the equalizer but he was up to the challenge. The one drawback for City was Ched Evans suffering a knee three minutes. Replaced by England U21 star Daniel Sturridge, a few minutes after the break the young virtuso orchestrated Robinho's second goal off a slick through-ball. This combination returned with twenty-eight minutes remaining as Daniel once again fed Robinho for his third goal of the day. City came close on a number of occasions but Stoke 'keeper Thomas Sorensen would have nothing to do with that and the match concluded with a hearty 3-0 in favour of Manchester City.
After the match Manchester City manager Mark Hughes noted his approval:
"I thought we were excellent, and not only in the attacking sense because defensively we were rock solid. We were prepared to stand up to the battle that Stoke will always give you.
"When we got the ball back we broke with real purpose and could have won by an even bigger margin.
Man City returns to Premier League action this Wednesday against Middlesbrough.
