SHAQIRI WILL BE REWATCHING ‘BEAUTIES’
AS GOAL collections go, Xherdan Shaqiri’s is pretty special and nobody, it seems, enjoys re-runs more than the Switzerland international himself. Shaqiri added two more to his montage at Hull — an unstoppable 25-yard curveball into the top corner in the first half and a precision free-kick just after the break — to lift Stoke out of the relegation zone. The 25-year-old, whose scissor-kick against Poland was shortlisted for Euro 2016 goal of the tournament, said: ‘Most of the time my goals are really beautiful and I watch them time and time again.’ Since moving to the Potteries from Inter Milan in a then club-record £12million deal 14 months ago Shaqiri’s goalscoring has focused on quality not quantity. This brace took his season’s tally to three, matching his 2015-16 league haul. ‘Of course everybody wants to score more goals. Every midfielder would love to score 10 or 12 goals a season but this is a tough league,’ Shaqiri added. ‘I know I have the quality to shoot well and I’m a player prepared to take a risk and gamble. If I see a space I will shoot from anywhere.’ The recent output of Shaqiri and Joe Allen, Stoke’s unlikely top scorer, has arguably bought Manchester City loanee Wilfried Bony time — his barren spell now stands at 17 Premier League appearances stretching back to Boxing Day. ‘We expect all our players to chip in and clearly we would like to get Wilfried off and running,’ said Stoke manager Mark Hughes. ‘But he’s a powerful player and has the ability to attract defenders to him, which frees up space for other players to benefit.’ Hull, who began the season with back-to-back wins, were abject. A fifth straight defeat dropped them into the bottom three. Mike Phelan’s managerial initiation is proving chastening but he hopes to add backroom lieutenants imminently, with just goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh for company following the departures of Stephen Clemence and Keith Bertschin. Two former Manchester United colleagues Tony Coton and Warren Joyce are understood to be Phelan’s preferred targets.