Stoke have been beaten 3-1 by Besiktas in Turkey in their last Europa League group stage game, but still progress to the knockout rounds.
Tony Pulis knew his side were guaranteed a place in the next stage of the competition, and played a largely second-string side in the dead rubber fixture.
The Britannia Stadium outfit actually took the lead in the first half, as Ricardo Fuller scored after 29 minutes; the game remained this way until the interval.
A second half revival by the home side saw goals from Manuel Fernandes, Mustafa Pektemek and Edu clinch victory, and Matthew Upson was also shown a red card.
Pulis is remaining upbeat despite the defeat and was happy with his team’s showing.
“It was a really good performance,” he told Sky Sports.
“The first quarter of an hour we were a little bit on the back foot, we looked like a team who hadn’t played together for a while.
“Then the goal went in and we looked very comfortable. For all their possession in the first half, we had the three best chances.
“We’ve gone down with a bit of glory today,” he concluded.
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Stoke face Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday, and will look forward to finding out who their opponent will be in the Europa League knockout rounds.
By Gareth McKnight
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