Oxford’s impressive start to the Sky Bet Championship season continued with a well-earned 1-0 victory against Stoke at the Kassam Stadium.
The U’s edged out the Potters thanks to Idris El Mizouni’s coolly-taken strike just after half-time, a goal which sealed the hosts’ third win from three home games so far this term.
The first league meeting between these two in well over two decades saw a cagey opening spell.
The Potters showed up first, with Million Manhoef seeing a left-footed drive blocked.
Des Buckingham’s hosts soon rallied, however, and went close after 12 minutes.
Josh McEachran played a smart ball into Mark Harris, and his powerful strike was well gathered by alert goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.
Tyler Goodrham then tried his luck from distance, with Johansson again equal to the task.
It was swiftly turning into an entertaining end-to-end clash, as back came the Potters with a couple of chances of their own.
Ben Wilmot was denied by a quality save from Jamie Cumming, while Bae Jun-Ho threatened with an angled strike which fizzed narrowly over the top.
The U’s had been under some pressure, but they gained a foothold once again as the half-hour mark approached.
Siriki Dembele saw an effort blocked following a smart tee-up by the industrious Harris.
Goodrham saw a shot saved comfortably by Johansson, before the Potters’ cause was hindered somewhat when Lynden Gooch was forced off through injury.
However, the U’s were similarly hit in first-half added time when Cameron Brannagan also limped out of the action.
Newly-promoted Oxford struck the opening blow within three minutes of the restart.
The goal came at the end of an eye-catching move down the right.
Ruben Rodrigues crossed in low for El Mizouni, and he coolly side-footed home from just outside the six-yard box.
Now with their tails up, the U’s almost struck what would have been a fortunate second goal minutes later.
Dembele turned sweetly towards the edge of the Stoke box before seeing a shot divert heftily off a defender before almost looping into the far corner of the net.
Harris was then thwarted by a decent stop from Johansson, with Stoke now looking rattled.
The visitors finally gained themselves some momentum, but any end product was lacking as the game entered its final quarter.
Wouter Burger tried a shot from inside the U’s box, but it was blocked and cleared by the hosts’ well-organised defence.
It was beginning to look like it was going to be Oxford’s day, and it definitely would have been had Goodrham’s fizzing strike not been superbly saved by Johansson after 79 minutes.
The hosts went on to hang on to their slender lead comfortably as Stoke’s inconsistent start to the season continued.
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. The reason why Man City lost 5 matches in a row Erling Haaland lol Cucuruku Cook that thing… This The Man United cycle. This Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, originaltrollfootball, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Portuguese has promised to not sign any Sporting CP stars in the winter window.However, all bets are off in the summer, with A Bola stating that Geovany Quenda is the main target.United are said to be preparing an offer of £50M plus bonuses to secure the young winger.Amorim can use Quenda in either wing-back position, while he is also capable of playing in the front three.Another player U...
The Algerian's contract expires in the summer of 2026 and he is believed to be eyeing a move away from Molineux.Rayan Ait-Nouri is wanted by Man UtdThat has put United are on red alert for a player as Amorim has made signing a left-back a priority.He wants to boost his options give Luke Shaw's injury record.Shaw could also eventually move into the back-three once the former Sporting Lisbon manager...
Mohamed Salah has said he is yet to receive a formal contract offer from Liverpool, adding that he is "more out than in" regarding whether he will stay at the club next season.Salah, whose contract is set to expire next summer, has enjoyed an impressive individual campaign, having scored 12 goals in all competitions this term, including a brace in Liverpool's 3-2 comeback win over Southampton on S...
Real Madrid monitoring Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite🚨👀 #Branthwaite is attracting the attention of 🇪🇺 top clubs.📃 #RealMadrid included the CB in their list of potential January targets, while 🏴 teams continue to monitor him ahead of June.💰 #Everton would like to keep him but are also open to evaluating bids >€70m. 🐓⚽ pic.twitter.com/5lpoomMdyp— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) Novem...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 4 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 The secret and very normal jobs of England’s WAGs
- 9 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 10 Ruben Amorim ‘could move to Ten Hag or Pogba’s old homes’