Mikel opens Stoke City goal account

Newly acquired Stoke City midfielder, John Obi Mikel, on Tuesday opened his goal account for the Potters in their 5-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town.

Mikel, 33, netted the second goal of the duel, which was played behind close door at the bet365 stadium.

Mikel, who was handed the club number 13 jersey, lifted his side above the 1-1 scoreline to see his team walk away with a 2-1 victory before half time.

The warm-up encounter, which was monitored on the official Twitter handle of the club, recorded three more goals from Tom Ince, Tyrese Campbell and Benik Afobe to give the former Chelsea midfielder a pleasant debut.

It was also gathered the erstwhile Super Eagles captain was substituted for Fletcher shortly after the break.

In a similar vein, Potters via social media applauded the impact of the Nigeria soccer star as he was seen shouldering the team on the field of play.

“We lead at the break, thanks for Obi Mikel late first half strike,” the club tweeted.

Few minutes after the final whistle, the championship side wrote: “Good run out in today’s behind closed doors training game against @Shrewsbury Town. Goals from the boys secured a 5-1 win.”