Marc Albrighton’s winner gave Leicester City victory at Carrow Road, leaving Norwich City still without a point after Kenny McLean’s equaliser was disallowed.
The Canaries fell behind early on after Jamie Vardy took advantage of a mistake by on-loan Manchester United defender Brandon Williams.
The hosts levelled through Teemu Pukki’s penalty just before the break but Albrighton’s shot, which deflected off Williams, restored Leicester’s lead.
McLean looked to have equalised soon after, but Todd Cantwell was ruled offside to leave Norwich one place above Arsenal at the foot of the Premier League.
Norwich was celebrating their second equaliser, a powerful header from the recalled McLean, but were denied their moment when a VAR check revealed Cantwell was offside in front of Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Daniel Farke’s side rallied late on and, deep into stoppage time, substitute Adam Idah stabbed a close-range shot wide.
Arsenal’s 5-0 defeat at Manchester City earlier on, coupled with Pukki’s goal – Norwich’s first of the league season – moved the Canaries off the bottom of the table after three games.
Norwich experienced both the upside and downside of VAR on a frustrating afternoon.
They were slow out of the blocks and were forced to chase the game after Williams endured a moment to forget early in his first Premier League start since his loan move from Old Trafford.
The 20-year-old left-back lost possession near his penalty area, allowing Ricardo Pereira to move to the byline and feed Vardy, who swept the ball in from near the penalty spot.
But the hosts improved as the first half developed, and had their chance after Çaglar Söyüncü’s clumsy challenge on Pierre Lees-Melou was eventually given as a penalty after referee Robert Jones consulted the pitchside monitor.
Farke’s side was the better of the two for much of the second half, with Milot Rashica impressing on the left. They responded spiritedly to Albrighton’s goal, but after McLean’s header hit the back of the net at a corner, Jones consulted VAR again to rule out what had looked to be the equaliser.
Brendan Rodgers will be pleased by his side’s response to a chastening 4-1 defeat by West Ham in their previous outing, but he will know his side can play better.
And the Foxes also had to contend with the early loss of Pereira, who limped off after his role in Vardy’s opener, potentially adding to an already ample injury list.
Albrighton’s winner was his side’s first shot on target of the second half and just his fourth league goal in three years.
McLean’s disallowed equaliser was followed by pressure on the Leicester goal that saw Joshua Sargent and Idah miss chances, but the Foxes hung on to move up into eighth place.
In Other News – Newcastle 2 – 2 Southampton
James Ward-Prowse scored a dramatic 96th-minute penalty soon after Allan Saint-Maximin appeared to grab an injury-time winner for Newcastle as Southampton earned a point in a thrilling encounter at St James’ Park.
The hosts had looked set to pick up their first win of the season after Saint-Maximin struck in the 90th minute, firing in from a loose ball after Alex McCarthy had initially denied Ryan Fraser’s effort. learn more
Source – BBC sport
