City down, Reds firing

MANCHESTER City’s defence of the English Premier League title is already in trouble.

Hapless defensive errors helped Norwich beat City 3-2 yesterday and leave the defending champion five points behind perfect Liverpool after just five games.

City hadn’t lost a league game since January — and drawn only once in that time — but conceded two goals to Norwich inside the opening half-hour.

“The people cannot expect we win every time or make 100 points [every season],” manager Pep Guardiola said. “Even with the [score at] 3-2, we had chances to make another one. The team never gave up.”

First, Kenny McLean evaded City’s marking to head in a corner from Emi Buendia, then City was caught unawares by a Norwich counter-attack. Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell broke together, Pukki drawing the defenders before delivering the ball to give Cantwell an easy finish.

Sergio Aguero revived City with a goal just before halftime, but sloppy defending just after the break undid his work. Nicolas Otamendi failed to notice Buendia running in behind him and was robbed of the ball on the edge of the penalty area before Buendia passed for Pukki to score his sixth goal.

Rodrigo’s low, hard shot for an 88th-minute goal gave City hope, but Norwich’s defence and goalkeeper Tim Krul weathered the storm for an unlikely win.

Liverpool stayed perfect with five wins from five after beating Newcastle 3-1, but it wasn’t easy.

Jurgen Klopp’s team went behind to a sweetly struck early goal from Jetro Willems, but fought back to win and preserve its record.

Sadio Mane continued his strong start to the season with two goals before halftime, taking him to six from six games in all competitions. Mohamed Salah made certain of the win with a third goal.

“You have to play much quicker than we did in the first part of the game,” Klopp said. ALL THE BRITISH RESULTS,