Arnautovic’s double pushes

MIDDLESBROUGH dropped into the relegation zone as Marko Arnautovic’s first-half brace condemned them to defeat at Stoke.

Boro fell behind in the 29th minute via a fine strike from Arnautovic, who then added a closerange finish three minutes before half-time.

The Teesside outfit, who are winless in 10 league matches and have failed to score in their last four, are down a place to 18th in the table, with Crystal Palace moving up to 17th and three points clear of them with a 2-0 win at West Brom.

Boro’s major problem is a lack of goals – they are the lowest scorers in the division, with a tally of just 19 for the season so far.

And while there was a disallowed goal for Ben Gibson in the second half, Aitor Karanka’s side rarely looked like scoring – and they might have lost by more, with Ramadan Sobhi hitting the bar early on and having a late header well saved by Victor Valdes.

It was hardly a surprise to hear some booing at the final whistle from the travelling fans.

In a bid to aid Boro’s problems in attack, Karanka replaced Alvaro Negredo with January signing Rudy Gestede among five changes to the starting XI.

Karanka was then forced to make an early adjustment at the back as Daniel Ayala limped off, with Bernardo Espinosa coming on.

Stoke almost took the lead six minutes later when a great passing move ended with Sobhi meeting Arnautovic’s cross with a shot that came back off the bar.

There was an opportunity for Karanka’s men in the 25th minute when Marten de Roon burst into the Stoke box, but his shot was well blocked by Geoff Cameron – and, soon after, Boro were a goal down.

Glenn Whelan sent a long ball forward and