Norwich City faced a tough opponent on Saturday as Wolverhampton Wanderers visited Carrow Road. The home team is still struggling with their form despite grabbing points from Leicester, Arsenal and Everton and the pressure is growing in the relegation battle. The visiting Wolves had been in a remarkably good form throughout the season and before losing to Spurs last round, they had gone nine games unbeaten in all competitions. Norwich took the control early on in the game and kept it going for the most of it – but failed to score more than once, despite creating plenty of chances. Wolves then did what they do best and came from behind to take 1-2 victory.
Norwich pushed Wolves into the defensive from early on, which the visitors seemed to accept. Wolves are known to be notoriously efficient counter-attacking team and many have paid the price of being caught out of position after over-committing to offense. Norwich was by far the more dangerous side in the first half and it was Todd Cantwell who took the hosts 1-0 up on the 17th minute. Cantwell read the loose ball perfectly and hit it in the net from inside the box. Norwich kept on the pressure but Rui Patricio got the better of Teemu Pukki twice and Alex Tettey was denied by the post. Despite being in control, Norwich failed to score again.
The second half saw Wolves gaining some momentum and in no time the visitors clawed their way back into the game. Romain Saiss hot in the score sheet by a powerful header on the 60th minute and Raul Jimenez scored his 16th of the season to start the final 10 minutes of the game. Tim Krul saved the initial strike by Matt Doherty, but prolific Jimenez followed up and secured the arguably undeserved victory for the visitors.
Norwich are deep in the relegation zone after the loss and Southampton taking three points. The safety is now seven points away and while Daniel Farke can be happy with his team’s performance in the past two games, Norwich quickly needs to start winning. Next opportunity arises on Boxing Day, when the team is visiting fellow relegation candidates Aston Villa. Needless to say the game is crucial in the fight for survival.
