Burnley move top as Jay Rodriguez penalty downs Norwich

Jay Rodriguez scored his eighth goal of the season as his penalty against Norwich sent Burnley top of the Championship.

The Clarets striker was handed the chance as Grant Hanley blocked Manuel Benson’s cross with his elbow with just eight minutes left, and when it seemed Norwich might hold out for a second successive draw to end their slide.

As it was, the Canaries remain outside the play-off spots after a dire run of one win in eight games, and just one point from the last five.

Vincent Kompany’s team utterly dominated territorially and in terms of ball possession but failed to test keeper Angus Gunn until Rodriguez fired his spot-kick home.

The first half was one-way traffic as Norwich clung on to the goalless scoreline despite Burnley continually stretching them through the touchline-hugging flank play of Vitinho and Anass Zaroury.

The Canaries defended doggedly enough but the fact that they survived until half-time without conceding was more down to the lack of an end product from the Clarets.

Within two minutes the dangerous Nathan Tella twisted and turned on the edge of the box before firing in a shot which deflected off a defender and bounced agonisingly past Angus Gunn’s post as the goalkeeper scrambled across his area.

Brazilian wing-back Vitinho flashed a cross to the far post but unfortunately it arrowed straight to Zaroury, who did not bring a reputation for heading the ball with him from Belgium Under-21s, and his attempt flew just over the bar.

The former Charleroi player was more effective with his feet, giving Max Aarons a torrid time, and he teed up Tella for another decent chance before firing over himself after carving in from the left.

The Canaries were much brighter after the break and when Teemu Pukki escaped from Jordan Beyer, he crossed for Todd Cantwell who was denied by a brilliant sliding block from Johann Berg Gudmundsson.

Rodriguez, though, punished Canaries skipper Hanley’s error of judgement and the win means Burnley are unbeaten since August 12, a run of 14 games, while their tendency to draw games they should have won seems to have come to an end with four wins in their last five.

Norwich almost did snatch a point when Pukki got clear and tried to lift his shot over 6ft 6in keeper Ari Muric, but the Kosovo international stretched out a hand to brilliantly block the attempt.