Norwich 2-2 Tottenham: Hits and Flops | Premier League 2019-20
Barely 48 hours after matchday 19 of the Premier League ended, a new gameweek began, with Carrow Raod being one of the venues as Norwich City hosted Tottenham Hotspurs. Both sides were in need of the points but for markedly different reasons, with the hosts engaged in a relegation scrap fight while Spurs have ambitions of finishing in the Champions League spots. The early season euphoria of winning against Manchester City are long gone as Norwich came into the fixture bottom of the table, needing a victory to spark life into what is looking a lost cause for relegation.
They seemed on course to getting the job done when Mario Vrancic put them ahead in the 24th minute but Tottenham levelled 10 minutes into the second half through Christian Eriksen.
A Serge Aurier own goal gave Norwich the lead once again but the hosts dreams of getting a first victory in seven matches were dashed when Harry Kane converted from the spot in the 83rd minute. The draw means that Tottenham find themselves two points behind fourth-place Chelsea having played a game more and they can drop into 9th spot at the end of the week if results go against them elsewhere.
For the hosts, they are three points from safety and for all of the brilliant attacking football Norwich have played under Daniel Farke, it looks increasingly likely that they would not avoid the drop this season. Here, we shall be having a rundown of the players who starred and those who flopped in the fixture.
Hit: Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen has been less than a guaranteed starter ever since José Mourinho took the reins, with the Portuguese gaffer preferring a midfield combination of Harry Winks and Eric Dier and deploying Dele Alli as his chief attacking threat. However, the Danish international is still one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and he was handed a rare start against Norwich owing to suspensions to regular first-teamers.
It was an opportunity that was taken by Eriksen and he was one of the brightest sparks for what was an ordinary Spurs performance. The 28-year-old levelled matters in the 55th minute with a well-taken freekick and he was responsible for instigating most of Tottenham's attacking play. Furthermore, he had four shots, of which two were on target, completed 88.5% of his passes, and made two key passes in what was a wholesome performance from the former Ajax star.