Norwich City 0-3 Burnley: Leaders show their class as they brush aside Canaries

Hjalmar Ekdal (left) celebrated his Burnley debut with a second-half goal

Leaders Burnley once again showed their title credentials with a ninth successive Championship win as they beat Norwich City 3-0.

Anass Zaroury capitalised on a mistake by Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul to fire an early goal for the Clarets, who were the dominant force in the opening period at Carrow Road.

Substitute Vitinho doubled the visitors’ lead with his first touch as he glanced home Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s corner seconds after coming on.

Debutant Hjalmar Ekdal got a third from close range soon after as Burnley went one game short of the record of 10 successive wins since the Championship was rebranded in 2004.

The victory put Burnley seven points clear at the top of the table after second-placed Sheffield United drew 0-0 at Rotherham and 20 ahead of third-placed Middlesbrough with both sides having played 29 games.

Norwich’s seventh home game without a win – a record that stretches back to 29 October – keeps them outside the play-off places and ended a two-match winning run for new boss David Wagner in the league.

The game promised to be a mouth-watering fixture as Burnley pitted their winning record against a seemingly resurgent Norwich who had scored eight times in their last two fixtures.

But it was Burnley who showed their class, especially in the early stages. City’s Grant Hanley made a superb block after Nathan Tella had robbed Kenny McLean on the edge of the box while Ian Maatsen fired an eighth-minute shot just wide.

From the resulting goal kick Krul played the ball straight to Zaroury on the edge of the box as he looked to pass to Max Aarons at right-back, and the exciting Moroccan winger fired low into the Norwich net for Burnley’s opener.

The hosts struggled to cope with Burnley’s pressing and neat passing as Vincent Kompany’s men showed why they are so far ahead at the top of the Championship – much to the ire of the home fans.

The hosts did begin to get a foothold of the game as the first half went on, and they should have levelled 10 minutes after going behind, but Kieran Dowell’s close-range effort was stopped by Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s leg after a great break by Teemu Pukki.

Burnley put the game to bed in a six-minute period shortly after half time. Vitinho got ahead of his marker at the near post to head in the second before Swedish defender Ekdal – a January signing from Djurgardens – side-footed home from a couple of yards after the onrushing Maatsen turned back a corner at the far post.

Norwich had a claim for a penalty when the ball skipped up on to the arm of Ashley Barnes, with the forward deflecting Marcelino Nunez’s half-volley from the resulting corner over the bar with 20 minutes to go.

Line-ups Norwich

Formation 4-1-2-1-2

1Krul

2Aarons4Omobamidele5Hanley30Giannoulis

23McLean

10Dowell25Hernández

17Gomes Sara

24Sargent22Pukki

Substitutes

Burnley

Formation 4-2-3-1

15Peacock-Farrell

14Roberts18Ekdal36Beyer29Maatsen

24Cullen8Brownhill

7Gudmundsson10Barnes19Zaroury

23Tella

Substitutes

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