Norwich City, with no hope of getting off the bottom of the table before the new year, held Tottenham to a 2-2 draw thanks to a slapstick Serge Aurier own goal on Saturday at Carrow Road.
Mario Vrancic put the Canaries ahead in the first half and the home side could’ve led by two but for a VAR reversal on Teemu Pukki. Christian Eriksen struck a brilliant free kick to briefly pull Spurs level before Aurier bundled the ball into his own net. Jose Mourinho was spared a second loss this week when Harry Kane drew and converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute.
The draw pulled Norwich up to 13 points on the season, still three back of 19th-place Watford, which smashed 18th-place Aston Villa (18 points) 3-0 despite playing with 10 men for more than 30 minutes. Spurs, meanwhile, jumped Wolves into fifth, though the club that beat Manchester City on Friday has a game in hand.
Norwich looked, at times, like the team that scored 93 goals in the Championship last season. The Canaries took the lead inside 20 minutes through Vrancic.
NORWICH LEAD ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/D8QCVuqhH3
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 28, 2019
Norwich fans (and Arsenal fans) will feel the Canaries were denied a legit second goal in the 33rd minute when VAR ruled Pukki’s armpit was offside.
Let's talk VAR pic.twitter.com/ZMKCfSFzxv
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 28, 2019
Sure.
Eriksen’s free kick made it 1-1 in the 55th minute.
A perfect free kick from Eriksen pic.twitter.com/MQRuXC0swi
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 28, 2019
Then came the Serge Aurier own goal in the 61st minute.
Pukki took a pass at the top of the box and the chance appeared to pass him by after a heavy first touch. But Toby Alderweireld kicked the ball off Aurier and into his own net.
NORWICH LEAD pic.twitter.com/kijJKXU6n8
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 28, 2019
Oops.
Harry Kane ensured Spurs wouldn’t leave with a loss with a late penalty, but neither side could find a way to win.
ICE COLD HARRY KANE pic.twitter.com/sKxqBlWEMc
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 28, 2019
Norwich will host Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day while Tottenham will play Southampton, hopefully with stronger jerseys than the Saints wore on Saturday.
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