Marko Arnautovic scored a brace to secure Stoke City's eighth consecutive home Premier League win at the expense of Middlesbrough.
The winger opened the scoring after 29 minutes, expertly controlling Glenn Whelan's lofted pass and smashing into the roof of the net.
He then doubled the lead from a Peter Crouch assist, moving level with Paul Scharner for most Premier League goals scored by an Austrian (21).
Middlesbrough came close to scoring in the second half, but Ben Gibson's goal was ruled out for offside.
Stoke move up to ninth on 35 points. Middlesbrough drop into the bottom three after Crystal Palace's win at West Bromwich Albion.
See: Stoke report | Middlesbrough report
