Norwich vs Leicester: Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton got the goals the Foxes needed to secure a deserved, but hard-earned, 2-1 win at Carrow Road on Saturday.
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That’s two wins (and six points) for Leicester ahead of the international break — a rather fine place to be given the squad challenges they have faced through three weeks. Norwich, meanwhile, will still be in search of their first Premier League point after the break.
Norwich vs Leicester final score, stats, results
Goals scored: Norwich 1 (Pukki 44' - PK); Leicester 2 (Vardy 8', Albrighton 76')
Shots: Norwich 14, Leicester 9
Shots on target: Norwich 4, Leicester 3
Possession: Norwich 45%, Leicester 55%
3 things we learned, Norwich vs Leicester
1. Struggling to start, still getting results: The Foxes are finding it rather difficult to simply pick up the pace of where they left off (about 90 percent of the way through) last season, but Brendan Rodgers’ side has two wins from three games to start the campaign without ever playing to their potential. In one sense, it’s a bit of a worry and Leicester fans will wonder if it’s a bit of smoke and mirrors, but on the other hand it re-emphasizes the fact that there’s so much room for further growth at Leicester. Given their track record of improvement
2. Defensive worries: Leicester will be without Wesley Fofana (broken leg) until at least the new year. Typically, losing a 20-year-old center back is hardly a death knell for sides hoping to qualify for the Champions League, but Fofana showed in his first season in the Premier League he’s an incredibly high-potential player who’s already a top-level player at a very young age. More importantly, he pairs with Caglar Soyuncu, who’s having an absolutely horrific start to the season week (more on that in a moment), as the more aggressive front-foot defender to Soyuncu’s safe sweeper in the event any attacker beats the former. But, without Fofana, Soyuncu is being asked to defend much more proactively, rather than reactively, and it doesn’t suit him at this level.
3. Plenty of fight in the Canaries: Credit has to go to Norwich for the way they battled back twice after conceding goals. The heartbreak of having a late equalizer taken away will sting that much more because they were hugely deserving of the point.
Man of the Match: Jamie Vardy - With a goal and an assist, it was Vardy who made something happen when the looks at goal were few and far between, as the stats confirm.
Vardy Party opens the scoring
A bit of advice for Norwich and any other side new to the Premier League: You shouldn’t give the ball away 40 yards from your own goal, but you really shouldn’t give the ball away 40 yards from your own goal against a team with the wide service of Leicester and some man named Vardy awaiting said service (below video).
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Pukki Party levels it back up
Soyuncu is currently living out a nightmare of a start to the 2021-22 season. After giving the ball (and a goal) away inside his own penalty area in the 4-1 hammering from West Ham United, the Turkish international gave away a penalty kick with a needless tackle in a very poor part of the box on Saturday (below video).
Albrighton fires Leicester back in front
Perhaps Tim Krul should have done better on the winner, but Albrighton placed it as far left as he could still within the width of the goal (below video). The finish was cushioned and precise, and just the bit of luck Leicester needed to kickstart their season.
Norwich equalizer ruled out by VAR
Kenny McLean sent Carrow Road into raptures when the home crowd through he had headed Norwich level just three minutes later. Unfortunately for the Canaries, Todd Cantwell was stood in front of Kasper Schmeichel in an offside position as the ball made its way toward goal.
