Norwich 1-2 Leicester: Brendan Rodgers side edge to victory at Carrow Road in Premier League

Report and highlights as Leicester edge to a 2-1 victory at Norwich; Jamie Vardy opened the scoring for the hosts; Teemu Pukki’s penalty sent the sides in level at the break; Marc Albrighton’s 76th-minute strike proved to be the winner after VAR ruled out Kenny McLean’s late equaliser

Saturday 28 August 2021 17:32, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Norwich were condemned to a 13th straight Premier League defeat as Leicester secured a 2-1 victory at Carrow Road.

Jamie Vardy’s early strike (8) gave Leicester the perfect start, but Norwich responded on the stroke of half-time, Teemu Pukki making no mistake from the penalty spot after Caglar Soyuncu was adjudged to have fouled Pierre Lees-Melou in the penalty area after a VAR review.

Leicester restored their advantage in the 76th minute through Marc Albrighton, but Norwich, who threw everything at Leicester late in the second half, thought they had grabbed an instant response thanks to Kenny McLean’s header.

  • How the teams lined up | Match stats
  • Premier League fixtures | Table

However, VAR was once again involved and the goal was ruled out because of a tight offside against Todd Cantwell, who was stood right in front of Kasper Schmeichel as Norwich, who are still waiting for their first points of the season, slipped to a third straight defeat of the season and a 13th across two seasons of Premier League football..

Meanwhile, for Brendan Rodgers’ side, it was a good response to their 4-1 defeat at West Ham last Monday. They move up to eighth after a second win of the campaign.

Trending

  • Get Sky Sports | Live football on Sky Sports
  • Stream the biggest moments on NOW for just £25 p/m

How Norwich were denied a first point of the season…

In what was an open start to the game, Vardy’s fine finish opened the scoring for Leicester.

Canaries full-back Brandon Williams loose pass allowed Ricardo Pereira to steal in and he raced past Ben Gibson before cutting the ball back for Vardy to curl home from inside the area for his second goal of the season but his first away from home in the top-flight since a strike at Tottenham in December.

Norwich were inviting pressure on themselves as they continued to struggle with their passing out from the back, but Leicester weren’t without their problems as a slack pass from Soyuncu allowed Pierre Lees-Melou a shooting opportunity, and Kasper Schmeichel had to be alert to palm the ball away to safety.

Player ratings

Norwich: Krul (6), Aarons (7), Gibson (7), Hanley (6), Williams (6), Gilmour (6), McLean (7), Cantlwell (7), Lees-Melou (7), Rashica (6), Pukki (7).

Subs: Sargent (6), Rupp (6), Idah (n/a).

Leicester: Schmeichel (6), Pereira (7), Amartey (6), Soyuncu (5), Thomas (7), Ndidi (7), Tielemans (7), Barnes (5), Maddison (6), Albrighton (7), Vardy (7).

Subs: Castagne (6), Iheanacho (6), Dewsbury-Hall (n/a).

Man of the match: Youri Tielemans.

Vardy should have had a second when Youri Tielemans’ pass fell kindly for the former England striker, but Tim Krul raced off his line to make an important block.

The Norwich fans finally had something to cheer just before the break when Pukki levelled for from the penalty spot after Leicester defender Soyuncu was penalised following a check by VAR. The Foxes centre-back slid in to block a cross when Pierre Lees-Melou had raced into the area, and initially the referee awarded a corner.

However, after VAR had reviewed the incident for close to two minutes, referee Rob Jones was sent to use the pitchside monitor, before pointing to the spot, and Pukki then sent Schmeichel the wrong way to level the scores at Carrow Road.

The momentum was with Farke’s side now and after Cantwell and Lees-Melou had fired off target, Pukki should have done better from Max Aarons’ perfectly weighted cross, but the striker headed straight at Schmeichel.

Leicester remained a threat, particularly on the break, and James Maddison should have done better when snatching at two strikes from inside the area before Youri Tielemans powered wide from distance

Rodgers reacted and called for Kelechi Iheanacho with 23 minutes left to play and the substitute was involved in what proved to be the decisive goal.

Team news

Iheanacho burst past Billy Gilmour before finding Maddison, who flicked into Vardy in space and he was able to find Albrighton on the opposite flank where the winger rifled into the bottom corner after a slight deflection off Williams.

It was cruel on Norwich but Carrow Road was celebrating three minutes later when McLean headed in Milot Rashica’s corner, but with Cantwell standing in front of Schmeichel, VAR ruled the goal out for the tightest of offside calls.

Substitutes Josh Sargent and Adam Idah both fired late opportunities wide to ensure Leicester claimed all three points and Norwich remained without a point from their opening three games.

What’s next?

After the international break, Norwich travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Saturday September 11; kick-off 3pm.

Meanwhile, Leicester’s next assignment is Manchester City at the King Power Stadium, also on Saturday September 11; kick-off 3pm.

Source: Read Full Article