It was almost a perfect night, wasn’t it?
Norwich comfortably beat Coventry 2-0 and QPR kept up their recent good form with an excellent 2-1 win over Brentford. The Bees had been on a relentless winning run but they’ve now suffered back to back defeats, which is nice. If only Swansea hadn’t got a late winner against Nottingham Forest it would’ve been perfect for those of a Canary persuasion but it doesn’t matter too much, it’s all about Norwich and what we do.
The win against Coventry was, for the most part, very comfortable. It could’ve and arguably should’ve been more than just 2-0 but it was decided by one piece of genius and one opportunist stealing of the ball both involving the dynamic, deadly duo of Teemu Pukki and Emi Buendia.
The pace on the through ball that Buendia provided for Pukki was perfect, absolutely exquisite and measured to the correct pace and distance for Pukki to run onto it and slot the ball home. Those sorts of passes look easy but they’re anything but. The last time I went to the Camp Nou, in 2018, I watched Lionel Messi play pass after pass to his team mates in the same manner. It was astonishing to watch and while I’m not saying that Buendia is in Messi’s league (nobody is), he is the closest thing that we have to his Argentinian compatriot.
On the stroke of half-time, as the fourth official was holding up the electronic board showing there was just one more minute of time added-on to play, Pukki nicked the ball off the toes of a dawdling Coventry defender and ran in on goal, supported by Buendia. Instead of shooting, Pukki squared the ball and Emi banged the ball into the unguarded net.
It was a goal that will have infuriated Mark Robins and changed his half-time team talk, not that it affected much in the second half. The Sky Blues had to have a bit of a go and they had a couple of moments and half chances here and there but nothing that seriously threatened Tim Krul and made him make a real save.
The back four were excellent and new boy Giannoulis really started to look the part here. His touch was assured and his dynamic runs up and down the left flank showed us a little glimpse of the player we have on our hands.
It was a decent display from a player who is getting better as each game goes by and it does make me think that Xavi Quintilla is going to have a huge battle on his hands if he is going to reach the required number of games to trigger Norwich’s commitment to buy him. I think that his mystery injury which befuddled the medical teams of both Norwich and Villarreal earlier in the season might’ve been such a concern that it forced City to make a move for Dimitris instead.
Todd Cantwell had a great game in midfield, “running the game” in the words of the Sky Sports commentator and he linked up well with Giannoulis too. Oliver Skipp was his usual excellent self and Kenny McLean managed to get through the game without any ricks, for a change. If I had to criticise anyone, I would say that Mario Vrancic’s game would best be described as “quiet”. He just didn’t do anything to really get noticed and when he finally got the hook for Kieran Dowell, it was no surprise. We all know what Mario can offer, he just didn’t do enough here and it was not his night.
Next up is a home game against Paul Warne’s Rotherham United, an opponent just like any in the league really, who can offer an upset to the odds, but the way City have played in the last couple of games it does look as though the wheels are well and truly back on the promotion band wagon.
OTBC