Norwich continues to haunt the big six

Relegation candidates Norwich City are fighting for survival down the table, currently dead last in the Premier League with 13 points in 20 games.

The Canaries are chasing survival with the likes of Watford, Aston Villa and West Ham and the safety of 17th place is six points ahead. Norwich’s season has seen some highs but mostly lows, but the newly promoted club has been able to be a constant thorn in the side of top clubs of the league.

After beating Manchester City and snatching draws against Arsenal and Leicester, Norwich faced Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, only two days after the Boxing Day loss to Aston Villa. While the Spurs have not exactly impressed this season, not much was expected from the home team – especially with such a short period to recover from the harrowing defeat by Villa.

Norwich however continued to haunt the big six clubs and pulled off a draw against the strong Tottenham squad, giving a glimmer of hope for survival.

Norwich got off with the right foot and were the more active side in the first half. Mario Vrancic returned to the starting lineup with a blast and scored the go-ahead goal after a brilliant takeaway by Emiliano Buendia on the 18th minute.

Talisman striker Teemu Pukki then took the home team 2-0 up minutes later from a nice through ball – only to have the goal disallowed by VAR. Pukki’s shoulder ended up being offside, despite the run clearly starting from onside position.

The Canaries can feel harshly done once again, as the VAR rulings continue to cause controversy. The first half saw no more goals and Norwich held on to their 1-0 lead.

The visitors gained some momentum in the second half, chasing the lead relentlessly. The advantage in quality started to show and Spurs had the upper hand with and without the ball, taking the game to Norwich’s half with ease. The push paid off in the 55th minute, with Christian Eriksen blasting in a world-class free kick from some 20 yards out.

Spurs continued their pressure, but it was a lucky bounce for Norwich that gifted the hosts another go-ahead goal. Pukki was once again the culprit in the box, having his chance cleared by Tobias Alderweireld but deflecting off Serge Aurier past the dumbfounded keeper Paulo Gazzanigga. It was marked as an own goal by unlucky Aurier.

Norwich was held to no shot attempts for the whole second half, so it was only justified for Spurs to pull level in the end. Harry Kane was surging through the defense after a pass by Dele Alli and Norwich defense had no choice but to bring the Englishman down. Resulting penalty kick was then converted comfortably by Kane, who scored his 11th Premier League goal this season to secure the 2-2 draw.

Norwich is still struggling to win the games but a draw against another high caliber team shows some promise. Next time Norwich is on fire in the next decade as they host Crystal Palace on 1.1.2020 at Carrow Road.

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