4 things we clearly learnt about Norwich City after their defeat to Leicester | OneFootball

Norwich City suffered their first home defeat of the 2023/24 campaign on Wednesday night, losing 2-0 to fellow top six outfit Leicester City in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

The Canaries looked to continue their momentum at Carrow Road, having won all three previous home encounters against Hull City, Millwall and latterly Stoke City, but came unstuck against Enzo Maresca's side, who kept their own 100% record on the road intact.

This defeat will leave boss David Wagner with plenty to ponder on ahead of Norwich's long trip to face Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon, and here are four takeaways from the defeat from a Canaries point of view.

Not ruthless enough

One of the main factors in this defeat was Norwich's lack of cutting edge, as they created more overall opportunities than Leicester - 15 vs 12 - but only two of these were clear-cut, with the closest coming from an unlikely source after just two minutes.

Jack Stacey was the man to give Foxes keeper Mads Hermansen the most work to do in the evening, but the Dane denied the full-back his second goal in as many outings.

The closest Norwich came afterward was through a Kenny McLean effort which hit the crossbar from range. This would ultimately disappoint Wagner as Norwich still remain highest in terms of goals per game with 2.1, as per FotMob.

Architects of their own downfall

Despite creating a number of chances that would go begging, Norwich can only have themselves to blame at the other end of the pitch for the result also, particularly for the first goal.

A loss of composure resulted in a swift burst from Stephy Mavididi who was eventually fouled by Christian Fassnacht, before Kelechi Iheanacho finished from the spot.

"The most annoying thing was the first goal we conceded - in 10 seconds we made three hugely avoidable mistakes where we only have to take care of the ball." Wagner told the BBC afterward.

In fact, the Canaries were slightly fortunate to go into the break just one down, as they surrendered possession instantly and Mavididi saw his effort go narrowly wide of Angus Gunn's left-hand post.

Plenty of positives

Despite the disappointing result and manner in which the two goals were given away, as Kasey McAteer secured the three points with six minutes to go, slotting into an empty net after a neat ball across the face of goal by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, it is clear that Norwich are moving in the right direction at the beginning of this campaign after an underwhelming 2022/23 season.

"We are obviously disappointed to lose but I am fine with the performance - it was top class," the Canaries boss told Sky Sports post-match.

The German head coach was also quick to praise the quality which Maresca has at his disposal, and that there is no major cause for concern.

"I think Leicester will finish top this season and the rest of the teams will be battling for the other positions. It's tough to take but I have every faith in this group of players going forwards."

Potential forward problems

Having already lost Josh Sargent to a long-term layoff in the 4-0 win at Huddersfield in August, Norwich fans will be hoping that Ashley Barnes' injury isn't too severe, as the 33-year-old was substituted on 54 minutes, with Wagner able to provide a small update.

"It looks like knee ligaments and we will know more after a scan tomorrow. Hopefully it is not too serious but we have strength in depth now which is good."

He was replaced by Adam Idah, who has enjoyed a decent start to the campaign with 3 goal contributions in 7, but was unable to really test the Leicester back line. He may be leading the Norwich attack at Home Park on Saturday and will hope to add to his tally against a Plymouth side who shipped four at Bristol City.