SARR AMAZING
Hotshot Ismaila has Hornets buzzing but Farke will not budge from his principles
DANIEL FARKE’S stubborn refusal to budge from his principles whatever the cost is admirable.
His Norwich side were floored by an Ismaila Sarr double and Emmanuel Dennis’ opener as fellow new boys Watford eased to their second Premier League win of the season.
So the way things are shaping up, even at this early stage, it is hard to imagine Farke’s bloody-mindedness not costing the Canaries dearly again.
The last time Norwich were in the Premier League, two seasons ago, Farke and Co were criticised for an inability to learn from their mistakes.
For repeatedly failing to realise that substance must come before style for teams trying to establish themselves.
The big question, then, was whether or not that penny had dropped.
And the boos which rang out from the home fans at the final whistle suggested a fair few have already drawn their conclusions on that front.
This loss made it five defeats in five at the start of the season and only four teams in Premier League history had managed that before yesterday,
Two stayed up – Crystal Palace in 2017-18 and Southampton in
1998-99 – but it will take a huge effort and they must fix the individual errors.
Teemu Pukki made it 1-1 to give the home fans hope, but once Sarr scored after the break that had all gone.
Farke said: “Of course, understand the fans’ frustrations.
“We are the same. We feel self-pity but it’s important to be selfcritical as well.
“It was a tough day. We had too many crucial mistakes in
our defending game
and goals, of course, change momentum in the game.
“But you can’t feel sorry for yourself, you have to roll your sleeves up and work harder.”
Dennis was at it from the off and, after a couple of sighters, it was no surprise when he showed great desire to meet Kiko Femenia’s cross with a good header.
Far greater than Ozan Kabak, the defender Norwich signed on loan from Schalke on deadline day.
Midfielder Mathias Normann, on loan from Russian side Rostov, also made his Norwich debut and it was his beautifullyweighted clip that released Pukki for the equaliser.
Watford regained the lead when Sarr poked home from Josh King’s pull-back.
He then finished a neat move which had seen Tom Cleverley, impressive in midfield alongside man-ofthe-match Moussa Sissoko, feed King.
King’s effort was saved by Tim Krul but it fell to Sarr and after it was incorrectly ruled out for offside, VAR righted the wrong.
Watford boss Xisco Munoz was pleased with his side’s second victory of the campaign.
He said: “It was a very good performance.
“The team had more time and we were always in control of the game.
“It was a mature performance, the team was on a good level, but we need to continue to work very hard.
“Sarr did very well. He is more mature with the ball and without the ball.”