That’s it from me, but I’ll leave you with Ed Aarons’ report from Carrow Road. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight.
There’s one other Premier League game tonight, and I’m afraid the score is not pretty.
At the final whistle, a beaming Steven Gerrard embraces Chukwuemeka. It’s four wins out of six for Gerrard now, though that doesn’t tell the full story - the two defeats were to Manchester City and Liverpool, games they were always likely to lose. It’s still early, and we’ll all look stupid if he’s out of a job by March, but all the early evidence suggests there is a lot of substance to his work. And that he has inherited a cracking squad.
Full time: Norwich 0-2 Aston Villa
Peep peep! That’s another really good win for Steven Gerrard, whose Villa side played with purpose, intensity and authority. The full-backs were a constant menace, Matty Cash in particular; the admirable Ollie Watkins made one, scored one and stopped running for approximately two seconds of the entire match; and, best of all, two of Villa’s brightest young talents had moments to remember. Jacob Ramsey, 20, ran 70 yards to score the opening goal, and then Carney Chukwuemeka, 18, came off the bench to make the second for Watkins.
90 min Five minutes of added time.
88 min Axel Tuanzebe replaces John McGinn.
Matty Cash, who has had a storming game, came across to intercept a pass towards Pukki and then clipped a superb long pass down the left wing to Chukwuemeka. He muscled Gilmour aside, shifted the ball away from Sorensen in the area and slid a precise cross that gave Watkins an open goal at the far post. Watkins deserves that goal for another selfless, indefatigable performance, but really the night belongs to Villa’s youngsters - Ramsey scored the first goal, Chukwuemeka made the second.
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GOAL! Norwich 0-2 Aston Villa (Watkins 87)
Ollie Watkins secures three points for Villa after lovely play from the teenager Carney Chukwuemeka!
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84 min: Vital tackle from Williams! Cash plays the ball through the inside-right channel for the tireless Watkins. He holds onto it while waiting for Cash to charge into the area and then plays a short return pass. Cash surges thrillingly away from Byram and Williams and is about to shoot when Williams snakes his left leg round to make a goal-saving tackle.
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83 min That’s Buendia’s last contribution. He is replaced by Carney Chukwuemeka, and is booed off by the Norwich fans.
82 min There’s a break in play while Cash receives treatment. He was caught in the face by his teammate Buendia, in fact, as they jumped for a cross with a Norwich player.
79 min Nothing much to report. Norwich are huffing and puffing - and this is definitely their best spell - but they still haven’t really worked Martinez.
76 min Another change for Norwich: Kieran Dowell replaces Przemyslaw Placheta.
75 min Buendia almost makes it 2-0! McGinn’s pass to Ings ricochets around the area until Watkins takes control and tees up Buendia. He rifles a first-time shot that is crucially blocked by a combination of Aarons and Williams.
75 min For trhe first time, Villa are spending long periods of the game in their own half. They are keeping Norwich at arm’s length, though, and I doubt Steven Gerrard will be unduly worried.
72 min Gilmour drives the resulting free-kick flat and hard towards the penalty spot, where Idah flicks a header straight at Martinez. That was one of Norwich’s best chances tonight, even if that isn’t necessarily saying much./
71 min McGinn fouls Placheta and hurts himself in the process. He’s limping but is going to continue.
70 min Plachets wins another corner for Norwich. They’ve played with greater urgency since half-time, though they still haven’t really troubled Martinez. And they’re not about to start, because the corner has been headed away at the near post.
68 min The defender was Aarons, in fact, and he didn’t get the ball. The way their legs collided was slightly hard to read, though, and it certainly wasn’t a clear and obvious error.
67 min Villa appeal for a penalty when Watkins goes over in the Norwich area. Nothing doing. I don’t think it was a foul, though I’d like to see it again to be sure. I’m confident it wasn’t a dive; I think he just slipped as he tried to go past Sorensen (I think).
64 min Brandon Williams is booked for pulling back Cash, who has troubled him all game.
62 min Villa are now playing with Watkins on the left, Buendia on the right and Ings up front.
61 min And a change for Norwich: Adam Idah replaces Todd Cantwell, who walks straight down the tunnel in a huff.
59 min A Villa change: Danny Ings replaces Ashley Young, 36.
58 min Cantwell, who has looked brighter in the second half, wins another corner on the left. But Gilmour’s inswinger is claimed with ease by Martinez. He must be such a calming influence on the defenders in front of him.
57 min “With managers, sometimes you just know,” says Jason in Sydney. “Especially when you’ve been watching your team for ages. In this case, the changes are stark. It’s not just the players getting a short-term bounce, the whole tactics and approach have changed. That’s why Villa fans are excited (and we loved Dean Smith, so that’s saying something).”
I suspect you’re right, though I recall Everton fans saying exactly the same thing when Roberto Martinez took over from David Moyes.
56 min Byram overruns the ball and then ploughs through Mings, a clear yellow card.
55 min McGinn, on the right, swings one of his booming crosses beyond the far post. Watkins gets to it and plants a downward header that is saved with his right leg by the well positioned Krul.
54 min The right-back Cash drills a long pass across the field to the left-back Targett, who takes it inside on the run and then drags the bouncing ball wide of goal from 20 yards. It was another example of how important the full-backs are to Villa, though - even in a back four, they are effectively wing-backs.
53 min This is a strange incident. Buendia’s long-range shot hits Aarons on the arm just outside the area. Aarons goes down holding his face, and the referee, thinking it’s ahead injury, stops play. It was only apparent on the replay that it hit his arm rather than his head. I’m not sure what he was playing at because it was outside the area, so there was no danger of a penalty.
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51 min: Chance for McLean! This might get the crowd going. Young plays a short backpass that is read well by McLean, but then he gets caught in two minds - possibly put off by the appreciable presence of Martinez bearing down on him - and pokes tamely wide from 15 yards.
50 min Konsa is booked for delaying a Norwich free-kick.
49 min Norwich give away a few free-kicks at the start of the second half, which adds to the crowd’s frustration.
That is a special run from Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey! ⚡
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 14, 2021
He puts his head down and just goes! A burst from midfield that his manager would have been proud of! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Asjajh1J5N
46 min Peep peep! Norwich begin the second half.
“I’m on a remote island in Fiji where the mobile service is spotty enough to preclude any streaming, so Rob, your comments are all I have to go on,” says Andrew James. “As a Villa fan, I feel for Dean Smith as he’s obviously a good manager, but Gerrard clearly looks like an upgrade already.”
As impressive as he has been, both in interviews and through his team’s performances, I’d be loath to jump to a conclusion like that after only five and a half games – with managers, novelty has a nasty habit of wearing off.
Half time: Norwich 0-1 Aston Villa
Peep peep! There are a few boos at the half-time whistle. That seems a bit harsh, whatever the poverty of Norwich’s performance. Villa have been excellent, hungrier and more purposeful, and deserve the lead given them by Jacob Ramsey’s memorable solo goal. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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45+3 min Pukki’s excellent cross on the turn is put behind at the near post by Douglas Luiz. It’s swung beyond the far post, where the backpedalling McLean can only loop a gentle header into the arms of Martinez.
45+1 min Kabak is replaced by Sam Byram. He goes into midfield, with Jacob Sorensen moving to centre-back.
45+1 min Four minutes of added time.
45 min More injury woes for Norwich: Ozan Kabak is down with an ankle problem, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to continue.
42 min There are a few groans from the home fans when Cantwell gives the ball away. They are missing a few key players, we shouldn’t forget that, but Norwich have been poor tonight.
41 min McGinn almost scores from the resulting corner! It was a deep, booming inswinger, possibly deliberate, that almost caught Tim Krul out. Krul backpedalled desperately and leapt to flap it over the bar.
40 min Targett’s sharp cutback finds Ramsey in the D. He mishits a first-time shot, under pressure from Cantwell, and Williams shins it over his own bar. That was an important intervention because Watkins was waiting behind him.
39 min Cantwell wanders over to the right to win a corner, but McLean curls it straight into sizeable hands of Emi Martinez.
Ramsey was 20 yards inside his own half when the move started. He played it forward to Watkins on the halfway line, who returned it to Ramsey with a deft touch just before he was taken out. Ramsey had no support at all so he just kept running, all the way into the Norwich area as the last man Gibson backpedalled in an attempt to buy some times. Once he was inside the area Ramsey moved the ball away from Gibson and Aarons, onto his left foot, and rattled it past Krul at the near post. The defending wasn’t the best, in truth, but let’s accentuate the positive: it was a lovely goal from a brilliant young player.
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GOAL! Norwich 0-1 Aston Villa (Ramsey 34)
Jacob Ramsey gives Villa the lead with a fine individual goal!
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31 min Placheta is fouled 35 yards from goal by Douglas Luiz. Gilmour clips the free-kick to the far post, where the under-pressure Sorensen heads straight at Martinez. It wasn’t much of a chance.
30 min When play eventually resumes, Douglas Luiz’s outswinging corner from the right leads to a penalty appeal when Pukki tries a wrestling manouevre on Konsa. VAR aren’t interested. That could easily have been given, even if Konsa made the most of it.
28 min There’s a break in play with Ramsey receives treatment. Not sure what happened but it looks like an impact injury and I think he’s okay.
26 min Watkins has a shot blocked, and then Cash’s cross is taken off Young’s toes in the six-yard box by Kabak. That was superb defending from Kabak, who read the play and came across to the near post in the nick of time.
23 min Gilmour cracks a superb angled pass into the area for Pukki, who can’t control it on the run. He looked offside, in truth, though the flag didn’t go up. It wasn’t the easiest ball to take, because Gilmour had to hit it with pace for it to get to Pukki, but it was still a chance.
20 min Cash’s cross is desperately cleared to the edge of the area, where Douglas Luiz’s shot is blocked. Targett volleys the rebound high and wide.
20 min “There’s just something inherently pleasing about watching 20 players on a football field wearing those two classic kits,” says Kári Tulinius. “Like how, for example, seeing Argentina face Nigeria just oozes worldcupness, Norwich City v Aston Villa is just so very English top-flight.”
19 min Buendia beats McLean to a loose ball in the Norwich area and wins another corner. As Martin Keown says on BT Sport, Villa have looked sharper than Norwich - especially off the ball - in the first 20 minutes.
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17 min At the other end McGinn curls a terriific pass over the top for Watkins, who wins a corner off Gibson.
15 min After a difficult start, Norwich are having an even share of the game. A very deep cross from the right is met by McLean, whose sweet volley hits Cash and goes behind for a corner.
14 min “That March 1993 table in the preamble makes for some fascinating reading,” says Matt Burtz. “Norwich were second-highest scorers with 50 goals, but they only had a +1 goal difference because they had let in 49, the same number as 18th placed Crystal Palace. Manchester United ended up winning by 10 points but sat in third with a +24 goal difference and a game in hand. How they weren’t running away with the league at that point is seemingly a mystery.”
Their season didn’t really start until they signed Eric Cantona at the end of November, at which point they were eighth and barely averaging a goal a game. Norwich were great that season, though they did take some punishment - 7-1 at Blackburn, 4-1 at Liverpool, 5-1 at Spurs I think.
11 min Williams moves down the left wing and is fouled, at least in the opinion of the referee, by McGinn. Gilmour’s free-kick is headed away to the edge of the area, where Cantwell mishits a volley into the ground and well off target.
8 min: Good save from Krul! McGinn receives the ball 40 yards from goal and pushes it forward. Nobody comes to him, so he has another touch and hits a swirling, dipping shot that is pushed over by the backpedalling Krul.
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5 min This has been a terrific start from Villa. After some nice passing on the right, Cash shapes a dangerous cross that just evades Watkins in the middle.
4 min Villa have started with Buendia on the left and Young on the right. Both have licence to move infield, not least because it creates space for Targett and Cash to bomb on from full-back.
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3 min Villa have started aggressively, swarming the Norwich players every time they lose possession.
2 min Douglas Luiz’s corner is poor. Villa keep the ball alive, though, and Watkins plants a header straight at Krul from 15 yards.
1 min Villa win a corner after 35 seconds, with Brandon Williams making a good challenge on the raiding Matty Cash.
1 min Peep peep! After the players take a knee, Villa kick off from left to right.
🗣 DS: “It’s been a tough few days. We’ve had a few COVID-related drop outs and had to name the team quite late. We asked for a bit of Premier League guidance, but we’ll keep battling through and do what we can to maintain our high standards.”#NCFC | #NORAVL pic.twitter.com/uxaQvJ5UYi
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) December 14, 2021
Norwich make four changes from the team that lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Saturday: Ben Gibson, Brandon Williams, Jacob Sorensen and Todd Cantwell replace Grant Hanley (injured), Josh Sargent (not sure but he’s not on the bench), Lukas Rupp (likewise) and Dimitris Giannoulis.
One change for Villa: the injured Marvelous Nakamba is replaced by Emi Buendia, with Jacob Ramsey moving back into midfield. A number of Villa players who were on the bench at Anfield aren’t in the squad tonight: Jed Steer, Morgan Sanson and Anwar El-Ghazi.
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Team news
Norwich City (4-3-3) Krul; Aarons, Kabak, Gibson, Williams; Gilmour, Sorensen, McLean; Placheta, Pukki, Cantwell.
Substitutes: Gunn, Byram, Mumba, Giannoulis, Tomkinson, Dowell, Idah, Dickson-Peters, Rowe.
Aston Villa (4-3-3) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey; Buendia, Watkins, Young.
Substitutes: Marschall, Tuanzebe, Hause, Trezeguet, Iroegbunam, Philogene-Bidace, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ings, Archer.
Referee David Coote.
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Preamble
On 24 March 1993, as the business end of the inaugural Premier League season approached, Norwich City met Aston Villa at Carrow Road in a potential title decider. John Polston scored a late winner which, coupled with Manchester United’s nervy 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal, put Norwich top of the table going into the international break.
Turned out the match wasn’t a decider for second place, never mind first. Norwich finished third and Aston Villa second, but it’s nice to remember that they were front and centre in the first Premier League title race. Especially as it briefly distracts us from the imminent cancellation of Christmas and probably the first few months of 2022.
There are a handful of Covid cases across the Norwich and Villa squads, though not enough for the game to be postponed. There might be a slightly strange atmosphere at Carrow Road - partly because of Omicron (it’ll be interesting to see the attendance) but also because of the reunions. Dean Smith meets his first love six weeks after they dumped him, while Emi Buendia returns to Carrow Road for the first time since joining Villa in the summer.
Both teams have had been in decent form since changing their manager. Villa have taken nine points from five matches under Steven Gerrard, and lost by a single goal to Manchester City and Liverpool in the other games. I don’t suppose we can say Norwich have had a new manager bounce, as they are bottom, but they’ve played well under Smith and could have beaten Manchester United at the weekend.
A win tonight would lift Norwich to 18th; a victory for Villa would move them from 13th to ninth. It’s on.
Kick off 7.45pm.
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