Ronaldo in an action replay to haunt Neil
RONALDO VIEIRA broke Norwich hearts for the second time in three games as his brilliant late free-kick earned Leeds a dramatic win at Carrow Road.
The man who scored the decisive penalty in the recent EFL Cup shoot-out between the sides made a decisive contribution from the bench just as the hosts looked to have rescued a point.
Alex Neil’s Norwich, under pressure after a 5-0 defeat at Brighton last week, led at half-time through Robbie Brady’s header.
But Leeds turned the game on its head with goals through Pontus Jansson – his first for the club – and Chris Wood.
Kyle Lafferty got the Canaries back on terms in the 87th minute with virtually his first touch after coming off the bench.
But fellow sub Vieira had the final say.
Leeds manager Garry Monk thought his side fully deserved their win.
“Over the course of the game I thought we were the better team and got what we deserved in the end,” he said.
“I think the first 20 minutes was the best start to a game we have had since I have been here.
“We looked sharp, should have put some of our chances away and then found ourselves behind when we conceded a really poor goal.
“I told the lads at half-time that if they repeated those first 20 minutes in the second half there was a result to be had and full credit to the lads, they went out there and did just that.
“We showed the spirit in the group to get back in front and when they equalised we came back at them again and got the result we deserved at a very difficult place to come.
“It was a great strike from Ronny, a goal worthy of winning any game.”
Norwich boss Neil felt his side still had last week’s 5-0 drubbing at Brighton on their minds.
He said: “I thought we were a bit nervy early on but once we got our goal we settled down.
“But once Leeds scored there was a fear about us and it was obviously a very disappointing result.”