Skip to content
Full Time After Extra Time This is a live match. Extra Time Half Time

Norwich City vs Brentford. Sky Bet Championship.

Carrow Road.

Norwich City 1

  • E Buendía Stati (26th minute)

Brentford 0

    Norwich City 1-0 Brentford: Emi Buendia fires Canaries 10 points clear

    Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Norwich City and Brentford at Carrow Road as Emi Buendia scored the only goal of the game in the first half to fire the Canaries 10 points clear at the top.

    Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

    Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich and Brentford.

    Norwich took another giant step towards an immediate return to the Premier League when they beat nearest challengers Brentford 1-0 at Carrow Road.

    A sixth successive Championship victory took the Canaries 10 points clear at the top of the table with just 12 matches left to play.

    The game was settled by a moment of magic from midfield maestro Emi Buendia who scored a brilliant individual goal midway through the first half to give his side the points.

    It was a fourth defeat in six games for Brentford, who are now surely battling for the second automatic promotion spot with the likes of Swansea and Watford.

    Image: Emi Buendia celebrates scoring for Norwich

    The visitors made an impressive start to the encounter and wasted a glorious chance to open the scoring after just 11 minutes.

    Bryan Mbeumo skipped past Dimitris Giannoulis on the right-hand edge of the area and appeared to have put it on a plate for Sergi Canos but with the goal at his mercy the former Norwich winger slipped as he prepared to shoot and failed to even hit the target.

    Bees top scorer Ivan Toney then did well to get on the end of a deep free-kick, with his effort going straight into the arms of a grateful Tim Krul.

    Also See:

    Norwich were always a threat going forward however and got their noses in front in the 25th minute with a superb goal from Buendia.

    Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

    Emi Buendia puts the league leaders in front against Brentford.

    A swift counter-attack saw the ball reach the Argentine playmaker on the right and he skipped past two defenders on the edge of the box before beating David Raya with a perfectly judged low shot into the bottom corner.

    It was Buendia's 10th goal of the campaign and he nearly added another assist to his tally on the stroke of half-time.

    Not for the first time this season a wonderful through ball put Teemu Pukki clean through but Raya produced a strong hand to deny the Finn and keep his side in the game.

    Raya made another top drawer save to deny Pukki again five minutes into the second half, pushing a fizzing shot from the edge of the box around the upright.

    It was the visitors who were having most of the ball however but they were kept at arm's length by a well-drilled City defence and Norwich almost made it two after 65 minutes.

    Ben Gibson got his head on an inswinging Buendia free-kick to test Raya, who then comfortably gathered a snap-shot from Onel Hernandez.

    Toney sent a shot narrowly wide in the first minute of stoppage time, while there were loud appeals for a penalty when Mbeumo went down in the area under a challenge from Grant Hanley, but Norwich deservedly took the points.

    What the managers said...

    Norwich's Daniel Farke: "It was a spotlight game between two of the best teams in the league and I thought it was a well deserved win. We didn't allow them many proper chances and we had many good situations and should really have scored more goals. I must congratulate all my players. It was a good performance and has taken us three points closer to what we want to achieve.

    "To have 73 points at this stage of the season is an outstanding achievement. It's seven points more than we had when we went on to win title two years ago and 11 points more than Leeds had last season. We are in a great position but there is no guarantee that it will be the same in the final 12 games. We have to keep this going to get what we want to be."

    Brentford's Thomas Frank: "Congratulations to Norwich, I think they are 100 per cent certain to be promoted. That is not mind games or anything like that, it's based on the quality of their performances this season.

    "They are now 10 points clear, they have the same team who won promotion two years ago, no injuries and have an excellent coach in Daniel (Farke). They are a very good side and it wouldn't surprise me if they went undefeated for the rest of the season."

    Win £250,000 on Wednesday!
    Win £250,000 on Wednesday!

    Do not miss your chance to land the £250,000 in Wednesday's Super 6 round. Play for free, entries by 6:00pm.

    Around Sky