Football Review | Norwich City 3 - 1 QPR

QPR were stunned at Norwich

A poor performance resulted in a 3-1 defeat which saw Philipe Clement claim his first three points as Norwich boss.

Author | Ajay

Stadium | Carrow Road

Emiliano Marcondes opened the scoring in the ninth minute from close range, only for Rumarn Burrell to haul QPR level two minutes later. Yet Norwich, marooned in the relegation places, played with little sign of that burden and struck twice in three first half minutes to secure a first victory since 30 August.

Amadou Mbengue sliced a corner into his own net before Amankwah Forson curled in a fine finish. Josh Sargent later had a fourth ruled out for offside as Clement, facing his old club, finally tasted victory in his third match at the helm. Norwich remain second from bottom, though the margin to safety is now down to four points, while QPR slip to 13th after their first defeat in four outings.

The home side looked more determined on the day

Norwich had not endured a 14 match winless run since April 1998 and they showed no appetite for revisiting that unwelcome milestone. Forson and Sargent went close early on before Marcondes restored the lead, capitalising when Ruairi McConville nodded the ball back into his path after his first effort had been blocked.

Their defensive frailties resurfaced almost immediately. Burrell darted across his marker at the near post to turn in Sam Field’s cross following a poorly defended corner. But Norwich carried a threat that had been missing for much of the campaign, with Paul Nardi reacting sharply to divert Kenny McLean’s deflected strike.

City, without more than a single goal in a match since 20 September, made the points safe before the interval. Mbengue diverted McLean’s corner into his own net and Forson rounded off a flowing move involving Oscar Schwartau, Marcondes and Sargent with a composed curling finish.