Leeds United 1 Norwich City 3: Canaries cruise into top spot

Leeds United relinquished their grip on top spot in the Championship as Mario Vrancic scored a double to help Norwich City claim an impressive 3-1 win at Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side relied on a late comeback against Rotherham United to secure the points in their last outing, but Leeds had no such luck against a rugged Norwich on Saturday, with Vrancic and Teemu Pukki doing the damage.

Vrancic got things started with a wicked free-kick five minutes in, and the midfielder played a crucial role in Norwich’s second 30 minutes later.

With Leeds having squandered possession deep in their own half, Marco Stiepermann kept his cool to tee up Vrancic, whose deflected strike presented Pukki with a simple finish.

It’s just Teemu Pukki’s world and we’re all living in it…

He has 13 goals and four assists in his last 15 league games. #EFL | #NCFC pic.twitter.com/hXjN3GoDDR

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) February 2, 2019

Mateusz Klich and Ezgjan Alioski had gone close to restoring parity shortly before Pukki’s goal, and the latter would have set up a grandstand finish if not for a fine block by Maximillian Aarons.

And Norwich, now unbeaten in 13 consecutive away games, made their good fortune count – Vrancic on hand to double his tally and ensure that the Canaries leapfrogged their hosts into first place, with Patrick Bamford’s stoppage-time header proving a mere consolation.