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Today, the champions of England were shocked beyond words.
Manchester City were left in the lurch at Carrow Road as fans donned in green and yellow watched the Canaries force a sudden stop to the Cityzens' haven't-lost-a-match-since-January spree.
In a spectacular game that saw five goals, Man City were unable to strike down the newly-promoted Norwich City. The Canaries have, since their return to the Premier League, showcased an attacking style of football that would make any manager proud. Usually, when teams gain promotion, they play don't bother trying to score. They just focus on conceding as few goals as possible, while hoping it's just enough to remain in the league.
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Norwich City have shown us just how exciting relegation candidates should make games, and wins like these make it all the more rewarding.
The game began with Manchester City intent on attacking. They hounded and harried the Norwich defence, but couldn't find a way in. 17 minutes into the game, Emiliano Buendia sent a corner directed to the near-post. With barely any disturbance from City players, the ball met the head of Kenny McLean who drove a powerful header past a stunned Ederson.
The second goal of the game came for Norwich only 10 minutes later. A very high defensive line from Man City was all the Canaries needed to spring up a fast-paced and unstoppable attack. A defence-splitting through-ball found a sprinting Teemu Pukki whose only marker was Kyle Walker. Pukki, instead of going for a shot, squared the ball down to Todd Cantwell who was unmarked and free as a bird. The 21-year-old Englishman found Ederson well off his line and placed the ball into the middle of the goal, beyond the hands of a rushing keeper.
Aguero brought City back into the game with a goal at the stroke of half time, thanks to Bernardo Silva's cross.
However, the Canaries were not done, and they would have John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi to thank for their third goal. A poor reaction from Stones saw the ball bounce of Pukki into the path of Stiepermann who played it ahead of Pukki. However, the 29-year-old was unable to put his shot on target. The short goal kick taken afterwards saw John Stones pass the ball to Otamendi. The Argentinian's concentration was at a record low as Buendia robbed him of the ball right in front of goal and layed the ball for Teemu Pukki who finished past the keeper and into the centre of the net.
Rodri's absolute screamer of a goal came late in the 88th minute of the game, and it was only a consolation. Manchester City were unable to score in injury time, and it looks like they have relinquished their claim on the title. This comes after Liverpool managed to put three goals past Norwich and continue a 14-game winning streak.
We take a look at three reasons why the Canaries won the game, leaving shocked Cityzens and an angry Guardiola walking off the pitch.
#3 Pure clinical prowess from the Canaries
When it came to converting shots into goals, Norwich City were full of class. The low quality defending the Cityzens showcased obviously helped, but so did smart finishing on the side of the Canaries.
Teemu Pukki and his attackers took seven shots at City's goal. They had three of those on target, and they scored all three. That's a high conversion rate of 42%.
Apart from this, they created a high number of opportunities from set-pieces, and scored a header to boot. This Norwich side has an eye for goal that does not look like it will be diminished any time soon.
#2 Manchester City were poor in the final third
The Cityzens dominated the game, especially in the midfield. They forced Norwich to defend for long periods in numbers. They dominated possession even in the Canaries' half. They made twice as many passes and found a thousand and one ways to get into the final third.
However, the one part they failed to find the answer to was what they did when they actually got into the final third. They simply failed. To put it into context, City had 25 shots against Norwich's 7, but Norwich scored all three goals in the box, while City scored only one in the box. From eight shots on target, they scored only two.
To whom much is given, much is expected. Manchester City failed to reach expectations today, and their poor finishing is part of the reasons why.
#1 A scrappy and lazy City defence
Two of Norwich's goals came from major defensive lapses, very major. The first goal came from a high defensive line that happened to be rather slow in reacting.
Teemu Pukki advanced way too easily down the middle of the pitch unmarked, and when Kyle Walker veered towards him, Pukki layed the ball to Cantwell who finished. Goalkeeper Ederson wasn't even near his line to stop the shot, and it was a sorry sight to behold.
The defenders didn't even learn from that goal. The lapses in concentration became clear, especially with the centre-backs. It was a confused state of Otamendi's mind that caused the third goal. No one is entirely sure of what he wanted to do with the ball he had received from John Stones. But he lost it, and it led to a goal in a matter of seconds.
The Cityzens' defence today was filled with major loopholes, and that needs to be sorted out fast.
