LAST UPDATE | 14 Dec 2019
NORWICH CITY ENDED nine-game winning run to claim an unexpected 1-1 draw at the King Power that meant the second-placed Foxes fell 10 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Leicester paid a heavy price for a poor start as Teemu Pukki put the Canaries in front before a Tim Krul own goal brought Brendan Rodgers’s men level before the break.
However, Leicester lacked their usual zip and Norwich’s excellent defensive display frustrated the hosts to pick up a deserved point.
Second-bottom Norwich move to within three points from safety and Daniel Farke will be frustrated his side have not shown this level of defensive discipline on most of their road trips so far this season.
Elsewhere, Sheffield United for now are Chelsea’s closest challengers as they moved ahead of United and Tottenham into fifth place on the Premier League table, with Republic of Ireland’s David McGoldrick chipping in with a lovely assist.
John Fleck scored twice in the second half to inflict a 2-0 defeat on Aston Villa and secure back-to-back victories in the top flight for the first time since 2006.
McGoldrick put Fleck in for his second goal with a beautiful touch in the Villa box to set up a one-on-one scenario, and Fleck crashed the ball home from close range.
Jack Grealish missed a late penalty for the visitors.
Burnley were also victors, as they picked up a 1-0 win over Newcastle thanks to Chris Wood’s close-range finish in a game of few chances at Turf Moor.
The result brought Burnley back to winning ways after a run of three straight defeats. Their victory also brings the Clarets to within three points of the top six.
I would guess the bookies will stop taking bets on Liverpool to win the league now. If they haven’t already.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh:
any other team, maybe.
But not for liverpool.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: not a chance. The season is too long and there are far to many potential slip ups. If they still have the same lead come the end of January the bookies will close the gate though
@Eoin Nolan: That’s not nice. 1/12 at the moment. Is it worth sticking on a grand to get €120?
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: I would feel much more confident if Liverpool were as convincing defensively as last year, but they have looked fairly shaky at the back this year. Also the recent injuries coming into an extremely busy Christmas and January period will provide plenty of opportunities for Liverpool to drop points(I avoided saying slip due to horrible PTSD)
@Tomas Ryan: It may seem LFC are not as defensively sound as last season,but they are only 3 goals conceded behind Leicester in the PL. The focus has shifted from all out defending,to further up the pitch,which has resulted in more games being won,less points being dropped. Only team now since League was founded in 1888 to have won 25 out of 26 games,only team in Europe’s Top 5 leagues to do the same. Longest unbeaten home record in LFC history,longest unbeaten league run in LFC history,Klopp most successful LFC manager league win ratio to date ever. Over the past the past 39 league games,have achieved 76 out of a possible 78 points,and the previous 38 league matches have returned 101 points,equal to Man. City’s record. Who are now 17 points behind. I wouldn’t be so worried if I was you.
@Larry Betts: I see what you’re saying but I cant help but feel teams are succeeding in making greater chances this year. Even tonight watford had several strong chances where they definitely could have scored whereas last year it didn’t feel like that. Maybe last year we felt better defensively in comparison to all the bad defending for years before I’m not sure
@Tomas Ryan: I agree,but I think we have a better mentality to want to win matches now. The “never give up” mentality has returned. We are winning matches that would previously ended up as draws,even today rather than settle for a 1-0 win,went looking for another goal to seal it. Even if Watford had scored today,and they should have,I’m still confident we could come back and grab the winner. The hunger to win the league is there to see,everybody wants it,and nobody will let it slip this time. We are in the midst of a great spell,not winning beautifully,but getting the points each and every time.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: I’ll give you odds of 1/15 if you want.
@Larry Betts: *Update* Should have said: ‘out of past 26 league games,have got 76 points from a possible 78 points’ not from past 39 games
The smart money is gone. Liverpool @ 4/11 and Leicester @35/1 was the window to cover your bet. City already looked out of it.