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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.
Flop: Juan Foyth
Juan Foyth was signed from Argentine club Estudiantes de la Plata in August 2017 and under the tutelage of his compatriot Mauricio Pochettino, he made steady progress and became established in the Spurs first-team last season, eventually leading to an international call-up where he was an ever-present in Argentina's 2019 Copa America team.
The game against Norwich saw the 21-year-old make only his fourth league appearance of the season and first start and he showed signs of match rustiness when he dallied on the ball, causing an error that led directly to Norwich's opening goal in the 24th minute.For the rest of his time on the field, Foyth did not do too much to impress José Mourinho and it did not come as a surprise when he was hauled off at half-time for Davidson Sanchez.
Hit: Mario Vrancic
Mario Vrancic was handed his second Premier League start against Tottenham and it took the Bosnian international just 24 minutes to make a mark on the game as he showed great awareness to take advantage of Juan Foyth's error while also keeping calm to place the ball past Paulo Gazzaniga.
This was his first goal in the competition and the 30-year-old would have thought he registered his first assist to boot when he teed up Teemu Pukki to score soon after.However, the goal was contentiously disallowed for a marginal offside call after consultations with the VAR. From his position at the base of midfield, Vrancic impressed in his job of shielding the defense and he played a key role in limiting the threat posed by Dele Alli and Tottenham. In total, the former Mainz man made three tackles, two interceptions, and one clearance before making way for Tom Trybull in the 74th minute.
Flop: Dele Alli
Dele Alli has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the change in the Tottenham dugout and it cannot be denied that the England international has seen an upturn in fortune since Jose Mourinho's appointment. Prior to his arrival, Alli had struggled horribly for form with many openly questioning his usefulness to the Tottenham cause.
Coming into the game against Norwich, he had scored four goals and assisted two in seven matches under the new gaffer and his form has been so pristine that Christian Eriksen has been kept out of the starting line-up.
However, he picked up a knock in training and was a doubt for the clash with the Canaries before passing a late fitness test to be included in the starting line-up. Perhaps the injury sustained was partly to blame, as Alli put in what was unarguably his worst performance since Mourinho took over. He was nothing more than a mere spectator for most of the game, failing to truly test Tim Krul in the Norwich goal.
