Norwich maintained their excellent start to the season at Carrow Road with a third straight home win as they beat Stoke 1-0 to keep up with the early pacemakers in the Championship.
A scrappy game with few clear opportunities was settled by a 44th-minute goal from defender Jack Stacey, his first for the Canaries since his arrival from Bournemouth during the summer.
It was a deserved win for the hosts, although they rarely hit the heights against a Stoke side who also struggled to create as they slipped to a fourth defeat in six league games.
Both sides looked short of ideas early on, with the warm conditions clearly having an affect on the pace of play, and it wasn’t until the later stages of the half that the game livened up.
The first good chance at either end didn’t arrive until the 39th minute and it was wasted by Norwich striker Adam Idah, who got a firm connection inside a crowded area but fired straight at Mark Travers.
Jon Rowe did likewise a couple of minutes later after working himself some space by cutting inside from the left but the late pressure did eventually tell, with the hosts taking the lead just before the break.
Christian Fassnacht set the goal up by dinking in a cross from the right and Stacey was in the perfect place to fire home from close range following a fortunate deflection off defender Mehdi Leris.
Stoke almost got back on level terms from their next attack but Tyrese Campbell screwed his shot wide from a good position after being set up by Wouter Burger.
The visitors started the second half brightly, with Campbell having a decent effort blocked, but Norwich looked comfortable enough after their excellent finish to the first.
The Canaries gave a debut to on-loan South Korea international Hwang Ui-jo as they went looking for a second, which nearly arrived on the hour mark when Fassnacht lifted the ball just over after muscling his way through.
Stoke still posed a threat, as they emphasised on 77 minutes when skipper Josh Laurent curled an excellent effort just over from distance, and they almost grabbed a point in the final minute of stoppage time, with substitute Dwight Gayle making a mess of a close-range opportunity.
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Liam Delap has been booked. If Arsenal get Gabriel Heinze as assistant coach Throwback when Pepe was surprised that referee gave only a yellow card to Sergio Ramos.. This lol This I guess I won't be needing this anymore... Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, thefootballarenaa, FootballLaughss, MaguireSkills, Foot...
Fabrizio Romano reports on his YouTube channel that in recent hours there have been new conversations between Arsenal and Noni Madueke's camp.Romano adds that he believes Madueke could be open to the transfer, given this second round of talks. If the winger had no interest in the move, presumably his camp would have shut things down immediately.The journalist clarifies that this doesn't mean Madue...
Catalan publication Sport claims that the Blues are "willing" to pay €40m (£34m) for the young Spaniard, who has caught the eye with his performances at the Club World Cup.Garcia has scored 3 goals in 4 appearances, including the winner against Juventus in the last 16 earlier this week.Even so, Real may be open to selling the 21-year-old, but Sport suggest they may want to include a buy...
Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi remain in negotiations to extend the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's contract beyond the end of 2025, a source told ESPN.Despite recent reports linking Messi to clubs in other leagues, both Inter Miami and the Argentine captain remain interested in continuing their relationship on the field.Messi signed with Inter Miami in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half year Designat...
Szczesny poised to extend Barcelona stay with new dealBarcelona are on the verge of securing a contract extension with experienced goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who is expected to sign a new two-year deal, sources told ESPN.Szczesny had previously acknowledged receiving an offer from Barca in May but requested some more time to evaluate his future. The Polish international has now decided to commi...
Chelsea take on Palmeiras in the quarter-finalsChelsea manager Enzo Maresca has tempered expectations ahead of Friday’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Palmeiras, stating that ‘football is full of surprises’.The Premier League side secured their place in this stage by defeating Portuguese giants Benfica, while Abel Ferreira’s team overcame Brazilian rivals Botafog...
REVEALED: Agents almost wrecked David's dream Juventus moveJonathan David pushed his agents to accept a major cut on their commission to seal his move to Juventus.In Turin today for his Juve medical, there was a danger of the move collapsing due to the demands of David's agents.A free agent from Lille, David's agents wanted a massive €25m to place the player at his next club, says Tuttosport...
Forest to bid for Leicester defender Kristiansen linked with Roma and EvertonNottingham Forest are said to be keen on Leicester City defender Victor Kristiansen this summer despite interest from other clubs.Leicester were relegated from the Premier League last season, having only gained promotion the year before and will be hoping to keep the squad together ahead of the new campaign where the Foxe...
Five Man Utd stars ask to leave including Rashford, Antony, Garnacho and SanchoFive Manchester United stars have informed the club that they wish to leave this summer after much transfer speculation.After the club’s worst season in history which saw United finish 15th in the Premier League, get knocked out of both domestic cups, and be beaten by Tottenham in the Europa League final, five pla...
Garnacho intends to stay in the Premier League after Man Utd departureAlejandro Garnacho has informed Manchester United that he wishes to leave the side this summer as he hopes to join another Premier League club.Garnacho was told he could leave United in May after complaining he was only on the bench for the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham. He, as well as Tyrell Malacia, Marcus Rashford, ...
- 1 Liverpool willing to make swap proposal to Palace for Guehi
- 2 Inside jet-setting England star Dominic Solanke's honeymoon with wife Erica
- 3 Raphinha happy to see Barcelona miss out on FIFA Club World Cup
- 4 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 5 Mystery blonde who had night out with Kieran Trippier
- 6 Sporting CP president Varandas: Gyokeres knows price he can leave for
- 7 Frustrated Arsenal turn to Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ekitike
- 8 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 9 Cristiano Ronaldo to join up with Portuguese boss at Al-Nassr
- 10 Coleen Rooney eclipses husband Wayne as main breadwinner