Is this the miss that will send Burnley down?
Cornet howler costs Dyche dear
WHAT was it Sean Dyche said about Everton? Ah yes, that they ‘don’t know how to win’. Hearing those comments will have hurt Frank Lampard and you can imagine the grin on his face watching this game unfold while tucking into Sunday lunch.
Everton won, Burnley lost, and this was a desperately damaging day for Dyche, especially after Newcastle and Leeds also picked up maximum points.
If Burnley do go down, they will look back on this game and, in particular, the miss by Maxwel Cornet when the goal’s net was begging to be rippled.
That would have made it 1-1 after 65 minutes and given Burnley the platform to go on and get the win they needed. Instead, they were beaten by goals from Pierre Lees-Melou and Teemu Pukki at a rocking Carrow Road.
‘Big step forward against Everton and a big step back today,’ said Dyche, whose side have eight games to save themselves.
‘The challenge is in front of us still. We have to close that gap and we definitely missed a chance to do it here.’ Norwich can continue to live in hope. Though they won here, it will still take a miracle for them to survive, but Dean Smith’s players did themselves proud.
‘It shows we’re still fighting,’ said Smith. ‘That was important for our supporters. It gives our dressing room an awful lot of belief. Who knows, if you win two or three games on the spin, the world can look different.’
Opponents know what they will get from Burnley — bruises — and Kenny McLean took a whack from James Tarkowski within five seconds of kick-off.
Norwich could not afford to be nice. They had to give as good as they got. Lose and it was pretty much curtains for their Premier League status. They started well, showing good intent in front of goal. Smith’s use of a midfield diamond and front two posed problems for Burnley and the breakthrough came in the ninth minute when a Norwich corner wasn’t properly cleared.
The ball fell to Lees-Melou, whose strike from the edge of the box went in off the post. It took a double deflection off Josh Brownhill and Jay Rodriguez, but Smith didn’t care how it went in.
Nor did the giddy Norwich fans. They’ve only taken the lead in seven games this season, so this was unfamiliar territory.
It would have been 2-0 after 16 minutes were it not for Burnley keeper Nick Pope, who stuck out a long right leg to deny the lively Pukki from finding the far corner.
Burnley were asking questions before the break and two crucial blocks by Ben Gibson — denying Ashley Westwood and then Matt Lowton — ensured Norwich walked in with a 1-0 lead.
Burnley have never come back to win a Premier League away game when trailing at half-time. They have been in this situation 64 times, losing 55 and drawing nine. The visitors wanted some help from referee Michael Oliver when Lees-Melou cynically fouled Charlie Taylor to kill a counterattack. Already booked, the goalscorer got away with the challenge but was now on his final warning. Smith rightly substituted him shortly afterwards.
Cornet has scored some important goals for Burnley, not least the winner against Everton on Wednesday. He should have made it 1-1 here but produced the sort of miss which keeps footballers awake at night.
Sam Byram clumsily conceded the ball to Dwight McNeil on the wing and the Burnley substitute’s cross was sublime. Cornet had an open goal at the back post, but he missed. The ball flew wide and heads were in hands.
Instead, it became 2-0. When Mathias Normann’s fast-paced pass found Pukki, who was being played onside by Taylor, he had only Pope to beat. He buried the ball into the bottom corner, a dagger to the heart of Burnley.
‘Can we play you every week?’ sang the Norwich supporters.
This looked like the perfect game for Dyche and his players after that win over Everton in midweek. It was anything but. NORWICH (4-1-2-1-2): Krul 7.5; Byram 7, Hanley 7.5, Gibson 7.5, Giannoulis 7 (Williams 84min); Normann 7; Dowell 7, Lees-Melou 7 (Rupp 69, 6); McLean 7; PUKKI 8 (Tzolis 89), Rashica 7. Scorers: Lees-Melou 9, Pukki 86. Booked: Lees-Melou. Manager: Dean Smith 7.5 BURNLEY (4-4-2): Pope 7; Lowton 6, Collins 6, Tarkowski 6, Taylor 5; Lennon 5 (McNeil 64, 6), Westwood 6, Brownhill 6, Cornet 5; Rodriguez 5.5 (Barnes 84), Weghorst 5 (Vydra 54, 6). Booked: Taylor. Manager: Sean Dyche 5. Referee: Michael Oliver 6. Attendance: 26,361.