Fans see the real deal at long last

IT TOOK less than three minutes for Jese Rodriguez to do something to make the home fans wonder if Stoke really had managed to persuade a properly talented player to join them. He sped past Shkodran Mustafi as if the defender was not there, the ball tight to his boot, and though Petr Cech smothered his shot, he had made an immediate impression. By the end the feeling remained: Stoke have a sprinkling of stardust with Jese.

Jese’s winning goal two minutes after the break was a thing of beauty. Collecting the ball in midfield, he passed to Saido Berahino and hurried into the box to collect Berahino’s smart pass behind Mustafi. With one swing of his left foot, he tucked the finish past Cech. Maybe for the first time in 10 seasons Stoke have a striker capable of scoring 20 goals.