[img][/img]Marko Arnautovic struck twice within the first 15 minutes to put Stoke in a commanding position.

His first was put on a plate for him by Xherdan Shaqiri who sprinted down the right before sliding in a pinpoint pass which the Austrian tapped past the returning Joe Hart.

The England goalkeeper, who had missed the last two games with an injury picked up away to Juventus, was beaten again shortly afterwards.

Shaqiri again found Arnautovic, this time with a through ball, and the towering forward sprinted into the box before slotting home.

Arnautovic had plenty of opportunities to complete his hat-trick but couldn't find the net again.

City never truly looked like they were going to mount a comeback, even with Fabian Delph, Jesus Navas and Kelechi Iheanacho being thrown on from the bench in an attempt to salvage a result.

The defeat leaves City vulnerable to being overtaken by Manchester United, Leicester and Arsenal, who are all in action at 3pm.

It is their fourth league defeat of the season, following 4-1 thrashings by Liverpool and Tottenham, and a 2-1 home defeat to West Ham.

City are next in action on Tuesday night, hosting Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.


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