Norwich City moved 10 points clear at the top of the Championship as Emi Buendia’s sweet strike earned them a sixth successive win and dented second-placed Brentford’s automatic promotion chances.
The Argentine cut in from the right to find the bottom corner after 26 minutes and the Canaries had little trouble seeing out victory at Carrow Road.
Brentford’s best spell came before the goal, with Sergi Canos making a terrible mess of a glorious close-range chance and top scorer Ivan Toney failing to get a true connection on a volley.
Norwich took control after going ahead, with Teemu Pukki wasting a second glorious one-on-one opening in their most notable miss.
But the hosts did not need the cushion of a second goal, despite some strong late Brentford pressure, as the Canaries recorded a 22nd league win of the season.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Norwich
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Krul
- 2Aarons
- 5Hanley
- 34Gibson
- 30Giannoulis
- 20Skipp
- 23McLean
- 17Buendía
- 8VrancicBooked at 51minsSubstituted forRuppat 69′minutes
- 25HernándezBooked at 71minsSubstituted forSørensenat 83′minutes
- 22PukkiSubstituted forHugillat 87′minutes
Substitutes
- 6Zimmermann
- 7Rupp
- 9Hugill
- 10Dowell
- 11Placheta
- 19Sørensen
- 27Tettey
- 35Idah
- 50Barden
Brentford
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Raya
- 22Dalsgaard
- 23ReidBooked at 41minsSubstituted forRasmussenat 76′minutes
- 5Pinnock
- 29Bech Sørensen
- 8Jensen
- 27JaneltSubstituted forNørgaardat 67′minutes
- 20GhoddosSubstituted forForssat 76′minutes
- 19Mbeumo
- 17Toney
- 7CanósSubstituted forFosu-Henryat 67′minutes
Substitutes
- 6Nørgaard
- 9Marcondes
- 15Forss
- 24Fosu-Henry
- 28Daniels
- 30Rasmussen
- 31Zamburek
- 37Gilbert
- 41Bidstrup
Live Text
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Match ends, Norwich City 1, Brentford 0.
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Second Half ends, Norwich City 1, Brentford 0.
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Foul by Marcus Forss (Brentford).
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Emiliano Buendía (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Ben Gibson.
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Attempt blocked. Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
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Attempt missed. Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Mads Rasmussen with a cross.
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Attempt missed. Ivan Toney (Brentford) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Marcus Forss.
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Substitution, Norwich City. Jordan Hugill replaces Teemu Pukki.
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Offside, Norwich City. Tim Krul tries a through ball, but Teemu Pukki is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. Dimitrios Giannoulis (Norwich City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Lukas Rupp.
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Substitution, Norwich City. Jacob Sørensen replaces Onel Hernández.
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Foul by Ethan Pinnock (Brentford).
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Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Substitution, Brentford. Marcus Forss replaces Saman Ghoddos.
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Substitution, Brentford. Mads Rasmussen replaces Winston Reid.
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Attempt saved. Onel Hernández (Norwich City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Emiliano Buendía.
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Foul by Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Brentford).
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Kenny McLean (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.