SWANSEA CITY NORWICH CITY FOUR PLAY Free-scoring Canaries hit 12 goals in three games
DANIEL FARKE’S carnivorous Canaries are giving the Premier League a four-taste of the bite they might carry with them next season.
For an incredible third successive game, Norwich scored four goals and much like Wolves last season it is an insatiable appetite no one else in the Championship can match at present.
This was the league leaders’ sixth straight victory and whatever their enigmatic German manager might say about his players needing to keep their feet on the ground, their fans are already writing songs about promotion.
After Black Friday, this was Yellow Saturday on the South Wales coast – more impressive since the home side themselves were on their best run of form this season.
Swans skipper Mike van der Hoorn might have given Norwich a helping hand with an early own goal, but Emiliano Buendia, the richly talented Marco Stiepermann and Teemu Pukki all scored afterwards to make up their team’s favourite number.
Daniel James scored his first league goal for the Swans before the break to give them hope when 3-0 down – but not even Wilfried Bony’s home return from injury looked like providing more. “To be at the top with so many points after 18 games is outstanding, but it’s no coincidence,” said Farke, trying to stifle his own excitement. “A third of the season is done and we’re in a good position, but we know each and every win is based on hard work. “At the moment we are focused, disciplined and concentrated on every small situation which is important for us and hopefully we can push on. We have great commitment and togetherness. We know we can’t lose the ground under our feet and enjoy ourselves too much because this league is so close and every game is so difficult.
“We know there are clubs with bigger budgets and bigger opportunities but we are enjoying the moment and there isn’t so much pressure. But we are also greedy to win as many points as possible.”
Greedy or gluttonous, Norwich have won 10 of their last 12 Championship matches and they have the hottest marksman around in Pukki – the Finn who has now scored five goals in his last three games and 14 in all this season.
Deflated Swans manager Graham Potter (inset) said: “We have to learn to manage disappointment and stay in the game.
“Norwich were the better team and deserved to win the game and we contributed to their performance.”