Stoke City boss Mark Hughes hailed matchwinner Bojan Krkic after victory at Southampton.

Bojan tucked in his third goal of the season after 10 minutes before Stoke shut up shop to register a fourth straight clean sheet on the road.

Xherdan Shaqiri charged clear down the right and, as England full-back Ryan Bertrand ushered the Swiss winger inside, he played the ball across the 18-yard line to Marko Arnautovic.

The Austrian helped the ball out to overlapping full-back Erik Pieters, whose cross was flicked in at the near post by the unmarked Bojan.

"He has that ability to drift between defenders," said Hughes. "It wasn't an easy finish - it was a good ball in, but it still needed converting.

"That's the ability he has. You need that creative spark, players who can make a difference, and we have two or three of those now. If you get those players in the right areas and give them opportunities they will win you games. Bojan has won a game for us in terms of the goal he scored."