Blackburn Rovers secured a 3-1 victory over Norwich City in their Championship clash. Tyrhys Dolan opened the scoring for Blackburn, finding a gap in the Norwich defence and punishing them after Joe Rankin-Costello found him. Sammie Szmodics made things worse for Norwich by neatly finishing a Rovers counter and tapping home an Andrew Moran centre for a 3-0 lead. Scott Wharton’s red card gave Norwich hope, but they could only manage a consolation goal from Gabriel Sara. This defeat marked Norwich’s fourth consecutive loss.
Starting off strongly, Blackburn took the lead in the 8th minute thanks to a goal from Dolan. Rankin-Costello provided the assist, sliding the ball inside for Dolan, who confidently fired past Norwich goalkeeper Long. Blackburn quickly added to their lead in the 15th minute through Szmodics. Taking advantage of a quick counter-attack, Szmodics found himself one-on-one with Long and comfortably slotted the ball into the net.
Norwich struggled to make an impact, with their best chances coming in the 31st and 33rd minutes. Nunez found Hwang on the edge of the box, but his shot was deflected and easily collected by Blackburn’s Wahlstedt. Stacey then laid off for Hernandez, whose shot narrowly missed the far post. The first half ended with Norwich trailing 0-2.
Blackburn continued their dominance in the second half, extending their lead in the 49th minute. Szmodics scored his second goal of the match after Moran found him at the back post, leaving Szmodics with an easy finish. However, Blackburn’s momentum was interrupted when Scott Wharton was sent off in the 54th minute for bringing down Hernandez, who was clean through on goal.
Despite being a man down, Blackburn managed to maintain control of the game. Norwich had a few opportunities, with Nunez taking a free-kick in the 55th minute that was comfortably saved by Wahlstedt. Norwich’s best chance came in the 63rd minute when Placheta’s cross found Fassnacht, but his header was well saved. Blackburn continued to create chances but were unable to convert them into goals.
In the dying moments of the match, Norwich managed to find a consolation goal in the 90+2 minute. Placheta’s cross was parried by the goalkeeper, allowing Sara to tap the ball into the net. However, it was too little too late for Norwich as the match ended 1-3 in favor of Blackburn.
Overall, Blackburn outperformed Norwich in terms of possession, shots, shots on target, and corners. Norwich’s fourth consecutive defeat puts pressure on head coach David Wagner, while Blackburn’s Jon Dahl Tomasson will be pleased with his team’s performance.
