Norwich vs Aston Villa: Steven Gerrard and Co., made easy work of the last-place Canaries, as they cruised to a 2-0 victory at Carrow Road on Tuesday.
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The win was Gerrard’s fourth in six games since taking charge on Nov. 11, with his only non-victories coming in one-goal defeats to Manchester City and Manchester United. The three points push Villa from 13th up to 9th in the Premier League table, with the four sides they leapfrogged still to play midweek.
Norwich vs Aston Villa final score, stats, results
Final score: Norwich 0, Aston Villa 2
Goal scorers: Norwich (None), Aston Villa (Ramsey 34', Watkins 87')
Shots: Norwich 7, Aston Villa 17
Shots on target: Norwich 3, Aston Villa 6
Possession: Norwich 50%, Aston Villa 50%
3 things we learned - Norwich vs Aston Villa
1. Possession without penetration: For all of the quality possession Aston Villa enjoyed (as the away side) on Tuesday, there was still a distinct lack of threatening touches inside the penalty area. The cause appears to be to a combination of factors: Gerrard is still implementing his ideas on the team; injuries have robbed them of star summer signings Danny Ings and Leon Bailey with far too much regularity; and Emi Buendia, the crown-jewel summer arrival, has struggled to create chances without a natural center forward for whom to create. It feels like matter of time before everything clicks into place. Aston Villa could look very different (and scary) by season’s end.
2. Ings on his way back, too: Ings came off the bench and played the final 30 minutes on Tuesday, after putting in a 16-minute shift against Liverpool on the weekend. It was his first action since Nov. 20 (three Premier League games missed), and a welcome sign for a side that largely has the rest of its affairs in order.
3. Not fearing, but expecting the worst for Norwich: We’ve been saying it all season, through their 10-game winless run to start the season (0W-2D-8L) and even still when they won a game, fired Daniel Farke, hired Dean Smith, won another game, and are now halfway to another 10 games without tasting victory (0W-2D-3L).
Man of the Match: Jacob Ramsey - Not only did he score the winning goal, but it’s quite possibly the best goal he’ll ever score. A night to remember for a 20-year-old who’s been at the club since the age of 6.
Norwich vs Aston Villa highlights
Jacob Ramsey goes alone, beats three defenders for opening goal (video)
Goal of the Season nominee alert: Ramsey got on the ball near midfield and beat three defenders plus the goalkeeper to score a sensational solo goal. Take a bow.
[ VIDEO: PL highlights ]
Ollie Watkins appears at the back post to tap in for 2-0 (goal video)
The entirety of Norwich’s defense appeared wholly unaware of Watkins’ presence, lurking at the back post as Carney Chukwuemeka prepared to shoot or cross the ball.
