Stoke City picked up their first win of the season, beating Norwich City 1-0 at the bet365 Stadium as Ethan Galbraith's 12th-minute strike proved decisive. It was Stoke's first match since winger Sorba Thomas's departure, and they lined up in a 3-4-3 in response to his exit.
Norwich dominated possession, holding 71.6% of the ball to Stoke's 28.4%, and had 15 shots to the hosts' six, six of them on target to Stoke's two. But Stoke were aggressive out of possession, pressing hard whenever Norwich tried to play out from the back and dropping into a resolute low block when pushed deeper. The back three was stretched at times and lone striker George Hirst found himself isolated, though Stoke did get bodies forward and push their wing-backs high when the chance came.
Galbraith struck his second goal of the season with a driven effort from the edge of the box. Luke Graham, who arrived from the Scottish Premiership, produced his best performance since joining, and American full-back Luca Bombino impressed on his debut, just days after arriving in England.
Captain Viktor Johansson said afterwards that the win felt like the start of Stoke's season, with relief and emotion around the players and staff at full time after a much-needed first victory. Both sides picked up two yellow cards, and Norwich edged the corner count 5-3. Attention now turns to Saturday's visit of Charlton, with Stoke hoping to build on a result that eases some of the pressure that had been building.