Norwich City are not new to springing up surprises and this time they did it with aplomb! Teemu Pukki spearheaded the attack and left Manchester City begging on their knees for an equalizer which was never to come.
The despicable Pukki has been incredible since the beginning of the campaign, and this game was no different. He scored one and turned provider for the second to defeat the Citizens.
The Finnish can finish! There is no question about his finishing, at least, the defensive pair of Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones would agree to that.
Pep Guardiola would have himself to blame for refusing to sign another centre-back. Indeed, the Spanish gaffer insisted that didn’t need a big man with the club unable to afford Leicester City’s, Harry Maguire.
The Canaries took advantage of the two-time reigning champions’ weakness at set pieces, taking the lead in the eight-minute through Kenny McLean. The Scot thundered his header past Ederson to give his side the lead.
Nicolas Otamendi was the culprit of City’s recent failure having let Emi Buendia catch him in possession before the midfielder slotted it through to Teemu Pukki who then passed it back for Todd Cantwell to put home.
City legend, Sergio Aguero then clawed one back just before the interval to save fans of the oil-rich club from bowing their heads in shame.
That said, they did fall to the sword once again. In fact, as early as five minutes after the interval, Teemu Pukki did what he knew to do best. The Finnish mugged Otamendi for the ball before slotting it home.
Rodri 20-yard drive into the net in the final minutes of the encounter made little or no difference as the Citizens slipped five points behind league leaders, Liverpool with that defeat.
Speaking of how worrying the defeat must have been for Guardiola and his men, the Canaries side who had just defeated them were without eight of their first team set-up which they lost to injuries.
The Spanish gaffer must be scratching his head at the thought of losing the title to his main rival, Jurgen Klopp. The former Bayern boss jokingly said after the game that Liverpool had lifted the title. A fairytale season for Pukki? Only time would tell.
Norwich City will face Burnley next weekend. The match is priced at 1.85 to finish with a total of over 2.5 or 3 goals. While a likely under 2.5 goals is available at 2.05.
Written by: Roland Arum
