A pair of goalkeeping gaffes balanced each other out, and Nicolas Otamendi’s header was the difference in Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Joe Hart’s 84th minute gaffe looked like it had allowed Cameron Jerome to steal a point for Norwich, but John Ruddy made a mistake of his own to allow Yaya Toure to win it from the spot.
Otamendi’s second-half goal looked to have given dominant City all three points, but the performance looked wasteful once the Canaries had equalized.
Man City stays top of the Premier League, while 16th place Norwich has lost four in-a-row.
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Norwich had a trio of solid opportunities as the game neared the 15th minute, but either saw shots blocked or knocked wide of goal.
Kelechi Iheanacho have Wilfried Bony a brilliant chance in the 22nd minute, but the Ivorian opted not to shoot across the face of goal and sliced his near-post shot wide.
Bony and Kevin De Bruyne couldn’t quite find the handle on an in-tight chance before halftime, and though Manchester City probably should’ve led at the break, it remained scoreless.
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Otamendi broke through, rising to head home a Kevin De Bruyne corner. It was seemed all City would need to gain three points, as at a point late in the match, Man City had out-attempted Norwich 17-4 (just 4-1 on target).
Enter Jerome. Joe Hart dropped a cross right onto the feet of the Norwich striker, who could not believe his luck. 1-1. Woof.
But the Canaries handed it right back, as John Ruddy mishandled a cross of his own and Russell Martin was sent off for blocking Raheem Sterling’s shot with his arm. Yaya Toure converted the PK, and City were back in business.
