SUNDERLAND are now winless from their opening eight matches of the Premier League season after a Joe Allen double lifted Stoke City out of the bottom three.

The Black Cats remain rooted to the foot of the table after Allen’s first half brace proved enough to seal the points and a first win of their own for Mark Hughes’ team.

Jeers could be heard from the away end as David Moyes headed for the nearby tunnel in the corner of the Bet365 Stadium after another defeat which already leaves Sunderland four points adrift of safety.

It is the third time in four seasons Sunderland have gone the first eight games without winning in the top-flight and, worryingly for Moyes and the club, it is hard to imagine where that elusive victory will come from this time.

Even with the return to fitness of Billy Jones, Steven Pienaar and Victor Anichebe, Sunderland were still without a number of important players. Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer were the latest two to be hit with an injury problem and then Patrick van Aanholt had to be withdrawn in the first half with another.

There was a return to the defence for Papy Djilbodji and he was heavily involved in Stoke’s early two chances; the second of which ended in them taking the lead.

Djilobodji had just made an important block to prevent Wilfried Bony from getting on the end of Marko Arnautovic’s pass when the loose ball was picked up by Xherdan Shaqiri.

The Swiss midfielder picked out Arnautovic in the Sunderland box and from the byline he sent over an appetising centre for Allen to arrive more purposefully than Djilbodji’s raised leg to head in the opener on eight minutes.

Sunderland had a couple of chances to level before the break, with Jermain Defoe guilty of missing the target when he had created an opening for himself as well as him being denied on another occasion by Ryan Shawcross.

But Stoke, boasting plenty of creative talent that belies their winless start to the campaign, also had openings too. Bony had an effort shave the side netting and Shaqiri and Arnautovic were constant menaces.

The Potters got the crucial second in first half stoppage time. Jordan Pickford conceded a corner with his excellent save to deny Erik Pieters from 12 yards, but from the flag-kick the keeper was beaten.

The corner was half cleared to the edge of the box where Allen was on hand to side-foot powerfully through the crowded box and inside Pickford’s bottom left corner.

Sunderland, who lost van Aanholt to injury at that time too, had a few moments positive after the restart but Stoke’s goalkeeper Lee Grant was never seriously tested.

And it could have been worse had Charlie Adam’s drive found the net rather than the bar in the closing stages. The wait goes on.

STOKE CITY (4-2-3-1): Grant; Bardsley (Adam 65), Shawcross, Martins Indi, Pieters; Cameron, Whelan; Shaqiri, Allen (Muniesa 75), Arnautovic; Bony (Walters 75). Subs: Given (gk), Diouf, Crouch, Bojan.

SUNDERLAND (4-3-2-1): Pickford; Manquillo (Pienaar 56), O’Shea, Djilobodji, van Aanholt (Jones 45); McNair, Rodwell (Anichebe 80), Ndong; Khazri, Watmore; Defoe. Subs: Mika (gk), Love, Asoro, Gooch.