Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Dean Smith adds: “A frustrating evening, beaten by a really good team. I’m frustrated and hurt by the manner of the goals. We hung on, they missed some big chances, we had some moments ourselves. So it wasn’t one-way traffic, but the second goal killed us. We forgot our principles, and that deflated the whole stadium.”
Pep talks to Sky. “From the first minute we created changes. We did a really good performance overall. Norwich were in a good moment and confidence, so it was important to prove ourselves again. It is many years the players have done it. They don’t have to convince me about their quality. Everyone must be involved, you cannot play with 11 or 12 players, we need fresh legs. The team is alive.” He also says that he doesn’t expect Liverpool to drop many points, and “wants more” from the “exceptional” Riyad Mahrez. A hard taskmaster all right.
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Nick Ames was at Carrow Road this evening. His report for the Observer has landed, and here it is. Managers still to be interviewed, of course, so don’t leave us yet.
Raheem Sterling - who scored a perfect hat-trick, left foot, right foot, header - talks to Sky. “We take it one step at a time, keep chipping away at it. Get in the right areas, and the goals will come. Our mindset is that we keep wanting to win. We’ll not rest on our laurels. To be a top team, it’s every three days, and that’s the challenge to us, to win every three days.”
Guardiola gathers his men and shoves them towards their fans. They soak up the applause, and give a little back, too. The away end deserves it: they’ve been bouncing all evening. Norwich asked a couple of questions of the leaders in the first half hour, but once the dam broke, there was no hope for the Canaries. They remain in the bottom three, with a trip to Anfield coming up next. Manchester City meanwhile take one more serene step towards the title.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 25 | 47 | 63 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 23 | 41 | 51 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | West Ham | 24 | 11 | 40 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 24 | 6 | 40 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 22 | 9 | 39 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 1 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 22 | 2 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton | 23 | 2 | 33 |
| 10 | Southampton | 24 | -7 | 29 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 22 | -4 | 27 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 24 | -3 | 26 |
| 13 | Leicester | 21 | -5 | 26 |
| 14 | Brentford | 25 | -14 | 24 |
| 15 | Leeds | 23 | -19 | 23 |
| 16 | Everton | 22 | -10 | 22 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich | 24 | -36 | 17 |
| 19 | Watford | 23 | -20 | 15 |
| 20 | Burnley | 20 | -11 | 14 |
FULL TIME: Norwich City 0-4 Manchester City
The whistle goes, and Manchester City go 12 points clear at the top again.
90 min +3: Sterling wins Sky’s man of the match award. No great surprise there!
90 min +2: Sterling completes a busy evening by picking up a booking for hauling Dowell to the ground.
90 min +1: There will be three added minutes, and the first flies by without incident.
GOAL! Norwich City 0-4 Manchester City (Sterling 90)
Sterling misses the penalty, telegraphing his kick towards the bottom right. Gunn saves well, but the ball breaks back across the face of goal and Sterling completes his hat-trick from a couple of yards.
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Penalty for Manchester City
89 min: Delap chases a pass down the inside-left channel and scampers into the box. He’s barged over by Hanley, and the ref points to the spot.
87 min: Williams bursts through a gap down the left but overruns the ball upon reaching the Manchester City box. Goal kick. Norwich send on Dowell in place of Sargent.
85 min: Williams tries to release Pukki down the inside-left channel but gets way too much on the pass. Ederson deals with the situation.
84 min: A Premier League debut for the 18-year-old Brazilian Kayky. He replaces Mahrez.
83 min: McAtee clumsily stands on Rashica’s heel. The Norwich man felt that. Also it’s an opportunity to go down to eat up some time, with the home side very much in damage-limitation mode.
82 min: Foden is replaced by Delap.
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80 min: Manchester City stroke it around the back, their work long done.
78 min: Well, it is a chance, but they don’t get one. Gibson wins a header, but only loops weakly into the air, gifting Ederson an easy pluck.
77 min: Pukki is never going to beat Foden in a foot race down the left, but he’s wily enough to earn a cheap free kick by clanking into the Manchester City midfielder. Chance for a consolation?
75 min: Sterling is wrestled off the ball by Gibson. Free kick to the left of the Norwich D. Before it’s taken, Silva is replaced by McAtee. Then the free kick is lumped into the mixer, the ball twanging off Fernandinho’s chest and over the bar from close range.
73 min: The Manchester City fans are giving it plenty, as they have been all evening. They can sense a fourth title in five years now.
72 min: McLean busies himself down the right and wins a corner. Byram competes for the ball, but it sails gently into Ederson’s arms.
71 min: ... and there’s even more good news, as Walker is back up and running.
GOAL! Norwich City 0-3 Manchester City (Sterling 70)
As Walker sits it out getting treatment, one corner leads to another, then Dias nods across the face of goal, left to right, allowing Sterling to head home from close range. Something for Manchester City fans to cheer this time.
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68 min: Something for Norwich fans to cheer, as Walker, flying to win a corner down the right, disappears over the advertising hoardings. He gets no sympathy whatsoever, but it looks as though he’s hurt himself.
67 min: Zinchenko glides down the left and into the box, but overhits his cross with white shirts queuing up to head home from six yards.
66 min: Walker strides down the right and has a dig. Blocked.
65 min: Pukki has trouble Ake on more than one occasion this evening, and now his harrying down the right forces the Manchester City defender into the concession of a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece.
64 min: Mahrez drops a shoulder to make space down the right, and whips a shot into the side netting. That was overly ambitious given the angle he was faced with, and the fact he had team-mates in the centre waiting to tap home.
63 min: Norwich make a double change, replacing Aarons and Lees-Melou with Byram and Normann.
61 min: Rashica is found in a little bit of space by the left-hand corner of the Manchester City box. He whistles a shot straight at Ederson, who hasn’t had much to do since his team-mates took the lead.
60 min: Walker hangs out a leg to cynically trip an in-flight Williams, and is lucky not to concede a foul, never mind receive a booking.
58 min: Sterling turns Aarons inside out like an old sock. He enters the box. Aarons, falling down dizzy, lightly clips his heel. Sterling does him a favour by not going down for what would have surely been a certain penalty. Sterling settles for a corner, from which nothing comes.
57 min: City continue to pass the ball around relentlessly.
55 min: The Norwich fans would have started to dream of a repeat of 2019 after 29 minutes or so. Now, with Manchester City strolling around imperiously, they’re pretty deflated. Only the away end can be heard right now.
53 min: They nearly take that goal-difference advantage to five, as Ake sticks out a leg to meet Gundogan’s corner from the left. Leaning back, he scoops the ball over, scraping the top of the bar.
Updated
52 min: Manchester City may fancy boosting their goal difference now. As things stand, they’ve got a four-goal advantage over Liverpool (as well as the small matter of the 12 points, obviously).
50 min: Hanley made a good stab of clearing that shot - Foden should never have given him any chance whatsoever - but the scuffed shot rolled a good few inches over the line.
GOAL! Norwich City 0-2 Manchester City (Foden 48)
Sterling’s cute reverse pass down the left releases Gundogan into the Norwich box. Gundogan rolls across for Foden, six yards out. He should score, but slams his shot straight at Gunn. He then does score - just - by prodding the rebound over the line. Hanley hooks clear, but the referee’s watch buzzes, and Manchester City will be 12 points clear of Liverpool this evening.
Updated
47 min: A slow start to the half.
Manchester City get the second half underway. No half-time changes.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Norwich City 0-1 Manchester City
The rampant leaders could have had a hatful ... though Norwich held on for half an hour, and even came close to taking the lead when Hanley headed against the post. Either way, as things stand, Manchester City will go 12 points clear this evening.
45 min: Aarons should gather a loose Foden pass down the left, but hovers aimlessly and allows Sterling to nip in front of him. Aarons responds by shoving Sterling in the back. A free kick that’s effectively a corner on the left. Gundogan swings in. Gunn claims. There will be one added minute.
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43 min: Walker crosses low from the right. Gibson stoops to head behind for Manchester City’s nth corner of the half. The corner’s cut back for Foden, who launches a shot that’s already travelled halfway to Ipswich.
41 min: Dias sprays a pass down the left. Norwich collectively attempt to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick. Sterling doesn’t give it up, and stops it on the byline. Fortunately for the hosts, his cross isn’t up to much, and easily cleared.
39 min: Fernandinho wedges a pass down the inside-right channel. Walker cuts back for Silva, who floats a cheeky chip across and over Gunn. Gundogan tries to head home from close range but, under pressure from the keeper, sends the ball over the bar.
38 min: Silva wins Manchester City yet another corner down the right. Mahrez takes, but not particularly well. Aarons heads clear, and though the ball’s sent back into the mixer, the flag goes up for offside.
37 min: Fernandinho, from a deep position down the inside-right channel, curls to the far stick. Zinchenko tries to Van Basten home from a ridiculously tight angle. Nope. Goal kick.
36 min: One corner leads to another. The second one is skelped clear by Gibson.
35 min: A free kick for Manchester City out on the left. Foden whips it in. Hanley eyebrows out for a corner with Dias lurking behind him.
34 min: Some space just inside the Norwich box for Mahrez, who drives towards the near post. Gunn parries well, and the resulting corner is something of a non-event.
33 min: Norwich try to respond immediately. Pukki worries Ake down the right again. He pulls back for Sargent, who lays off to Gilmour, who in turn rolls backwards for the in-rushing McLean. A first-time shot squirts harmlessly wide right.
GOAL! Norwich City 0-1 Manchester City (Sterling 31)
Walker crosses deep from the right. The ball finds Sterling, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. He drops a shoulder to cut inside, then curls an unstoppable shot across Gunn and into the top right. What a finish!
Updated
30 min: Manchester City only half clear the corner. Norwich come back at them down the right, McLean backheeling to release Aarons, who cuts back from the touchline to nobody in particular. The leaders clear, go up the other end, and ...
29 min: Gunn launches long. Sargent flicks on down the right, allowing Pukki to tussle with Ake. Pukki wins a corner off the Manchester City defender.
27 min: Aarons goes down, requiring some attention after whacking his knee. He’s back up and running again soon enough.
25 min: Manchester City work down the left through Gundogan, then Zinchenko. The full back cuts back for Sterling, ten yards out. Sterling pinball-flippers an instant shot towards the bottom left. Gunn, falling backwards, boots clear. Manchester City keep pressing, but Norwich keep clinging on.
24 min: Sterling tries to dribble into the Norwich box from the left, but is chased back up the flank by McLean. Some resolute defending that earns the Norwich man a big cheer.
22 min: Gundogan swings the corner in from the left. Hanley blooters clear in the no-nonsense style.
21 min: Fernandinho floats one into the Norwich box. Gibson heads away from Silva, who was waiting to smack home. Hanley hacks behind for a corner.
20 min: Norwich have their tails up now, and here’s Gilmour skedaddling in the gallus style, across the front of the Manchester City box, left to right. He can’t quite get a shot away, but forces a corner. However the flag then goes up for offside. A brilliant response from Norwich to Manchester City’s opening domination.
18 min: From the resulting free kick, Norwich win a corner on the right. Sargent’s header sends the ball skimming to the left. The ball’s hooked back into the Manchester City box. Hanley rises highest, and sends a downward header twanging off the base of the right-hand post. One each! The rebound looks to have fallen to Gibson, but he can’t force home because Fernandinho is on point to block and clear.
17 min: Rashica, on the edge of his own box, embarks on a sensational run down the middle, racing past Fernandinho as though the Manchester City midfielder wasn’t there. He looks to skate past Dias on the halfway line. Dias is not of a mind to let him pass, and cynically checks him. Into the book he goes. What a run!
15 min: A long pass down the Manchester City right. It looks as though Williams runs it out for a corner, but the linesman’s flag is sympathetic. Goal kick. The nearby Mahrez is a picture of incredulity.
14 min: A free kick for Manchester City out on the left. Foden shapes to swing it into the Norwich box, but instead works a short one, and the ball’s shuttled to the right wing instead. Norwich are pulled all out of shape. Silva, on the right, curls to a gathering of white shirts at the far post. Somehow the cross evades them all and sails out for a goal kick.
11 min: Manchester City go up the other end, Gundogan whistling a low cross through the six-yard box from the left. Foden is this close to poke home but can’t stretch far enough. If he was one inch taller, that was in. Williams traps instead and hoicks clear.
10 min: Pukki drives in from the right and has a whack at goal from 12 yards. It’s a fierce drive but well handled by Ederson.
8 min: Space for Zinchenko down the left. He crosses towards Gundogan at the near post. Gundogan flashes a header straight at Gunn. This has been a slightly surreal start, with Manchester City going very close three times, and Norwich suggesting on a couple of occasions that the visitors can be got at.
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7 min: Walker plays a loose ball in from the right, allowing McLean to intercept and launch long for Pukki down the left. The pass isn’t accurate enough, and Dias covers easily enough.
5 min: Mahrez is played into space down the right. He feeds Silva just inside the box. Silva opens his body, and curls a gorgeous shot around Gunn and towards the bottom corner. Carrow Road waits for the net to bulge ... but the ball cannons off the base of the post, and flies across the line, into the prone Gunn’s arms! What a let-off for Norwich.
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3 min: That will have given Norwich some early hope, though. Manchester City can be got at ... so the visitors remind them how dangerous they can be. Sterling wins a corner. The set piece is worked back up the pitch, before a ball’s lobbed down the inside-left channel to release Foden, who slams home after some staunch Gunn resistance. Another offside flag pops up. In a parallel universe somewhere, it’s 1-1 already.
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1 min: Almost a sensational start! Gunn blooters long. Dias fresh-air kicks, allowing Rashica through on goal! Rashica doesn’t back himself, though, and in looking to find Pukki in the middle, slips over and loses control. It doesn’t matter, though, because the flag goes up correctly for offside.
Norwich City get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. Applause greets the gesture. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out. Norwich wear their famous yellow, while Manchester City sport second-choice white. A fine atmosphere at Carrow Road as ever. The Chain by Fleetwood Mac blasting out of the speakers. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
... and now Sky speak to Pep Guardiola. “All my career, when you play three days later, I don’t like to play all the same players. Jack Grealish is injured, he was not ready today but hopefully next Tuesday. Every team plays for something important and we know it will be difficult. We will try to discover their weak points, and hopefully the guys in the final third will be clever enough to create chances.”
Dean Smith talks to Sky Sports. “We can all look at what Manchester City have done for the last ten years and admire the statistics, the titles and the cups. But they are just human, and we have to think that way, and go into the game full of confidence for the unbeaten run we’re on at the moment. Billy Gilmour has been getting back to full fitness, but Adam Idah has a knock on his knee and his ankle, so we didn’t want to risk him with all the important games we have to come.”
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It’s been a mixture of good and bad news for Norwich in the 3pm kick-offs. Everton have beaten fellow relegation-haunted giants Leeds 3-0 at Goodison, while 19th-placed Watford went down 2-0 at home to Brighton. Tim de Lisle has the details of those matches.
Norwich make two changes to the starting XI selected for the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Billy Gilmour and Josh Sargent, the latter having recovered from illness, replace Adam Idah - 21 yesterday and injured - and Przemyslaw Placheta.
Manchester City make five changes to the team sent out for the 2-0 win against Brentford. Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho replace John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, all of whom drop to the bench.
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The teams
Norwich City: Gunn, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams, Gilmour, Lees-Melou, McLean, Rashica, Sargent, Pukki.
Subs: Byram, Zimmermann, Dowell, Placheta, Normann, Tzolis, Giannoulis, McGovern, Rowe.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.
Subs: Stones, Laporte, Rodri, De Bruyne, Joao Cancelo, Carson, Kayky, Delap, McAtee.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Preamble
Nobody is expecting too much of Norwich this evening. That’s not a slight on Dean Smith’s side, who have taken seven of the last nine points available, a spirit-restoring run that has sparked genuine belief of a successful scrap against the drop. It’s just that tonight’s opponents Manchester City are ... well, Manchester City. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 Premier League games, for goodness sake, and drawn the other. They’ve not even been playing particularly well of late, not by their own standards anyway. The mark of champions.
Yet there’s always hope ...and while Manchester City beat Norwich 5-0 in the corresponding fixture at the Etihad earlier in the season, they’ll also have sore memories of coming a cropper on their last visit to Carrow Road. The 3-2 scoreline that September 2019 day flattered the visitors, who were uncharacteristically swept aside that day. What they’d give for a repeat performance. They set about trying to replicate it at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 24 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 23 | 41 | 51 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich | 23 | -32 | 17 |
| 19 | Watford | 22 | -18 | 15 |
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