Bottom club Norwich City kept alive their slim hopes of avoiding a quick-fire return to the Championship and dealt a blow to fellow strugglers Burnley with a crucial win at Carrow Road.
Pierre Lees-Melou’s first goal since signing from Nice last July and Teemu Pukki’s 86th-minute finish settled a tense relegation scrap – and earned the Canaries only their fifth Premier League victory since winning promotion last season.
French midfielder Lees-Melou’s ninth-minute deflected shot, which went in off the post, put the hosts on their way before Pukki drilled home the second to give Norwich a glimmer of hope of staying up, with Dean Smith’s side now seven points from safety with seven matches left.
Burnley had their moments, with Maxwel Cornet, the match-winning hero against Everton in midweek, missing a glorious chance from three yards out.
In what was a must-win game, Norwich’s defence came under relentless pressure at times but recorded back-to-back clean sheets in the league for the first time since October.
“We know it’s hard and still a mountain but we have seven games to go now, so if you put a few wins together the table looks different,” said Norwich boss Smith.
The result leaves the Clarets 18th in the table, four points from safety with eight matches remaining.
“It’s still the same challenge but a game down,” Burnley manager Sean Dyche said.
Gritty Norwich show fight – but have they left it too late?
With struggling Everton beating Manchester United on Saturday, Norwich started Sunday’s game 10 points from safety with eight matches left.
But Smith’s side passed the pressure test in style with a first win in nine league games.
It will still require a monumental effort for them to survive. Three of their final seven matches include teams challenging for Europe – West Ham (home), Tottenham (home) and Manchester United (away).
“We want to take it to the last game, but we know how hard it could be,” added Smith. “Hopefully we can find that resilience in the results.”
Even before Lees-Melou’s goal, Milot Rashica forced Nick Pope into a diving save, while the Burnley keeper denied Pukki with his legs.
Just as impressive for Smith was his side’s performance at the back.
Norwich made several vital blocks to frustrate Burnley, including one by former Clarets defender Ben Gibson to keep out Ashley Westwood’s volley.
In the closing stages, Norwich’s Grant Hanley headed against the bar while Pope denied Rashica before Pukki had home fans celebrating a rare win.
Burnley’s survival hopes suffer major setback
Cornet will have nightmares about his 65th-minute miss, just days after he left the pitch at Turf Moor with fans singing his name following his late winner against Everton.
He looked certain to equalise as he slid to meet Dwight McNeil’s lovely pass, but somehow put it wide as Burnley failed to score for the 15th time in the league this season.
“We can’t miss chances like that,” Dyche said. “He’s done well for us this season. But we have to take the game on and be better than that in the front third.”
Earlier, Cornet was denied by Tim Krul, but the Norwich keeper was not tested nearly enough in what was a high-stakes game.
Dyche will still believe his side can climb out of trouble in the closing weeks, and they still have to meet fellow strugglers Watford on 30 April. But despite beating Everton on Wednesday, Burnley’s task has become more difficult after this defeat at Carrow Road.
“It was a huge setback after a huge step forward,” added Dyche.
“It might come easier in a strange way when people write you off. Virtually everyone will think we’re done, but we don’t think that.”
Player of the match
PukkiTeemu Pukki
Norwich City
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Squad number22Player namePukkiAverage rating
7.53
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Squad number5Player nameHanleyAverage rating
7.13
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Squad number20Player nameLees-Melou
Average rating7.13
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Squad number21Player nameWilliams
Average rating6.97
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Squad number23Player nameMcLean
Average rating6.89
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Squad number1Player nameKrul
Average rating6.78
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Squad number17Player nameRashica
Average rating6.72
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Squad number10Player nameDowell
Average rating6.71
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Squad number16Player nameNormann
Average rating6.71
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Squad number4Player nameGibson
Average rating6.69
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Squad number30Player nameGiannoulis
Average rating6.69
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Squad number3Player nameByram
Average rating6.66
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Squad number18Player nameTzolis
Average rating6.53
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Squad number7Player nameRupp
Average rating6.46
Burnley
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Squad number1Player namePope
Average rating5.05
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Squad number9Player nameWeghorst
Average rating4.88
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Squad number20Player nameCornet
Average rating4.70
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Squad number11Player nameMcNeil
Average rating4.66
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Squad number27Player nameVydra
Average rating4.62
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Squad number5Player nameTarkowski
Average rating4.58
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Squad number19Player nameRodriguez
Average rating4.53
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Squad number22Player nameCollins
Average rating4.51
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Squad number17Player nameLennon
Average rating4.51
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Squad number3Player nameTaylor
Average rating4.42
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Squad number8Player nameBrownhill
Average rating4.42
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Squad number2Player nameLowton
Average rating4.37
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Squad number18Player nameWestwood
Average rating4.31
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Squad number10Player nameBarnes
Average rating3.60
Line-ups
Norwich
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Krul
- 3Byram
- 5Hanley
- 4Gibson
- 30GiannoulisSubstituted forWilliamsat 84′minutes
- 23McLean
- 16Normann
- 10Dowell
- 20Lees-MelouBooked at 26minsSubstituted forRuppat 69′minutes
- 17Rashica
- 22PukkiSubstituted forTzolisat 89′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Aarons
- 6Zimmermann
- 7Rupp
- 18Tzolis
- 19Sørensen
- 21Williams
- 28Gunn
- 45Springett
- 46Rowe
Burnley
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Pope
- 2Lowton
- 22Collins
- 5Tarkowski
- 3TaylorBooked at 78mins
- 17LennonSubstituted forMcNeilat 64′minutes
- 18Westwood
- 8Brownhill
- 20Cornet
- 19RodriguezSubstituted forBarnesat 84′minutes
- 9WeghorstSubstituted forVydraat 56′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Cork
- 10Barnes
- 11McNeil
- 13Hennessey
- 14Roberts
- 16Stephens
- 27Vydra
- 28Long
- 37Thomas
- Referee:
- Michael Oliver
- Attendance:
- 26,361
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Norwich City 2, Burnley 0.
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Second Half ends, Norwich City 2, Burnley 0.
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Attempt saved. Josh Brownhill (Burnley) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Maxwel Cornet.
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Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Tim Krul.
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Attempt missed. Brandon Williams (Norwich City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Milot Rashica.
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Matej Vydra (Burnley) hits the bar with a header from the left side of the six yard box. Assisted by Matthew Lowton.
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Foul by Maxwel Cornet (Burnley).
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Sam Byram (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Norwich City. Christos Tzolis replaces Teemu Pukki.
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Offside, Norwich City. Tim Krul tries a through ball, but Milot Rashica is caught offside.
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Foul by Matthew Lowton (Burnley).
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Milot Rashica (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Josh Brownhill (Burnley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Mathias Normann (Norwich City).
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Goal! Norwich City 2, Burnley 0. Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mathias Normann with a through ball.
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Foul by Matej Vydra (Burnley).
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Sam Byram (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Substitution, Burnley. Ashley Barnes replaces Jay Rodriguez.
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Substitution, Norwich City. Brandon Williams replaces Dimitris Giannoulis.
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Corner, Norwich City. Conceded by Matthew Lowton.
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