JOE Allen’s first half double ensured that Sunderland’s winless start to the season has now been extended to eight matches.

Here’s four of the main issues from the Bet365 Stadium, where David Moyes’ side never looked like getting back into it.

MATCH-WINNERS (OR LACK OF THEM)

This was billed as the battle between the two winless teams but from pretty early on it was clear that one side had better players than the other.

Sunderland may have a proven goalscorer in Jermain Defoe, but when he is not firing it is hard to imagine anyone else scoring; Patrick van Aanholt is the only other player to have found the net in the Premier League this season.

Stoke, on the other hand, have dangerous players throughout and they still had Bojan, Peter Crouch and Mame Diouf on the bench.

Xherdan Shaqiri, Marko Arnautovic and two-goal Allen were threats to Sunderland, so it didn’t matter than Wilfried Bony misfired.

INJURY PROBLEMS

One factor you can’t discount when considering Sunderland’s lowly position is the extensive injury list Moyes has had to deal with.

Van Aanholt had to hobble out of this game in the first half and he has now joined the likes of Lee Cattermole, Fabio Borini, Jason Denayer and Lamine Kone on the sidelines through injury.

Billy Jones, Steven Pienaar and Victor Anichebe were involved at the Bet365 Stadium, but those three will not be the ones that keep Sunderland in the Premier League this season. Defoe needs help.

MANAGERIAL PRESSURE

It was all smiles beforehand when Moyes and Mark Hughes shook hands on the touchline; that grin was soon wiped away from the Sunderland manager’s face again though.

The pair both wanted to win for the first time in the league this season and it was Hughes, perhaps under even greater pressure to deliver this afternoon because of the length of time he has been in the job, who emerged on top.

Hughes took over at Stoke in May 2013 and has assembled a squad full of attacking talent and match-winners, even if it is a side that still has its flaws.

Moyes, on the other hand, is still miles away from having a team capable of forcing itself into the top ten having taken over in the summer. Yet he has to come up with a way of finding some victories from somewhere quickly.

DEFOE FRUSTRATED

Apart from a couple of first half chances that saw Defoe fire an effort over the bar and another blocked by Ryan Shawcross, the Sunderland striker grew in frustration.

He has settled in to life at Sunderland and enjoys it in the North-East, but it seemed he didn’t enjoy playing with Wahbi Khazri on this occasion.

Khazri – who always looked to get involved and tried a few positive things - wasted a number of good positions and should have rolled a pass to Defoe at times, leaving the latter to turn away in disgust and often raise his arms in frustration.

Sunderland need to keep Defoe happy otherwise the battle to stay in the Premier League will soon be lost because even at this stage he is the one man capable of keeping them up. No pressure!

DAVID MOYES

He said: "I didn’t think we played as badly as the 2-0 at half-time suggested but we conceded two terrible goals.

“We’re just looking for that win to give us a lift and a bit of momentum and something to start from. That is the hard bit.

“If anything should give us a lift, it will the supporters and the way they kept supporting us and never gave up on the players.

“We have got to try to keep going and show that we can get a result. The club has been in this position many times, so it’s not something they are not used to facing.” 

MARK HUGHES

He said: "I think I'm right in saying that it's been coming. The signs were there but clearly you've got to get the job done and that's what the lads did today.

"I thought the performance was excellent from start to finish. We showed good attacking intent defensively we were solid.

"We have a few injury concerns leading into the game and had to make changes but the lads were determined to get a positive result today."