Bristol City vs Norwich City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton Gate.
Report from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Ashton Gate; Teemu Pukki double and Emi Buendia strike help Norwich go fourth and extend unbeaten run to five games
Saturday 31 October 2020 18:11, UK
Norwich continued their fine form in the Sky Bet Championship and extended Bristol City's winless run in the process with a 3-1 away victory on Saturday.
A quick-fire early double from Teemu Pukki (6, 14) put Norwich ahead at Ashton Gate before Jack Hunt reduced the deficit for the hosts (15).
Norwich then scored at a crucial time when Emi Buendia's terrific touch and strike restored the visitors' lead in first-half stoppage time (45+2).
In the second half Nahki Wells had a moment to forget when his Panenka penalty sailed over (75), and that allowed Norwich to see out the win and go fourth having picked up 13 points from their last five games, while Bristol City have accumulated just two points in that same spell.
Norwich twice exposed Bristol City's three-man central defence in the first 14 minutes, with Pukki scoring his first when latching onto a fine through ball from Marco Stiepermann and striking early to slot the ball under goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.
The Finn's second came from a Jacob Sorensen long ball, with the Norwich striker this time seeing his effort deflect past a helpless Bentley.
Seemingly cruising, Norwich switched off and allowed the hosts back into the game a minute later, with Jamie Paterson seeing his effort saved before he got to the rebound and looped the ball over for Hunt to slot in at the back post.
Bristol City grew in confidence after the goal, and Tim Krul was on hand to keep out Chris Martin's header with a sublime save before the hosts were hit by a sucker-punch in first-half stoppage time when Buendia brilliantly took down Ben Gibson's pass and tucked in Norwich's third.
After the break, Martin was then denied by the woodwork after his curled effort from 25 yards out evaded Krul but hit the inside of the post and stayed out.
Sorensen then offered Bristol City a way back into the match when fouling Tomas Kalas inside the area, but Wells spurned the opportunity with 15 minutes to go when chipping the penalty over - the forward was substituted off just minutes later.
Norwich ended the match on top and though they did not add to their tally it proved to be another confident victory for Daniel Farke's side.
Stiepermann deserves a mention for his pinpoint passing, but it was the recipient of those passes who gets the nod, with Pukki causing constant concern for Bristol City's defence, converting his first two chances and then continuing to be an outlet up front when Norwich went more defensive and looked to counter.
Bristol City's Dean Holden said: "We were far too open and easy to score against. That isn't like us because we have looked pretty solid in the games up to now. But we have work to do to get back to where we want to be.
"Going forward, we were always a threat and the save Tim Krul made from Chris Martin's header was out of the top drawer. But we had things to sort out at half time because their third goal was a sucker punch. I felt we got a response to what was said.
"Nahki is disappointed with his penalty. He didn't execute it properly and it was a vital moment in the game. Had we scored then, there would have been time to get an equaliser.
Norwich's Daniel Farke said: "Thirteen points from the last five games is fantastic and makes us the team of the moment in the Championship.
"This was a very difficult away game and we fully deserved to win. We talked about being more clinical in front of goal because we had created so many chances in our earlier matches without taking enough of them.
"Today we have seen three great assists by Stiepermann, Sorensen and Gibson and some wonderful first touches to help turn them into goals. Tim Krul has made a couple of important saves but he is the best goalkeeper in the league so I expect that of him.
Both teams are next in action at 7pm on Tuesday November 2. Bristol City travel to the John Smith's Stadium to face Huddersfield, while Norwich host Millwall at Carrow Road. The two fixtures are available to watch live across Sky Sports.
