Fresh off the back of a comeback at the Stadium Of Light just 3 days prior, Vincent Kompany’s side came into the clash against an out of form Norwich full of confidence.
20 year old American Jonathan Tomkinson made his first start for the canaries, as he partnered Grant Hanley in defence.
Jay Rodriguez returned up front for the Clarets with Anass Zaroury retaining his spot after a fine performance against Sunderland.
The first half was dominated in large parts by the hosts, with Zaroury and Brownhill having the best chances after the early exchanges.
A flurry of bookings for both sides followed with Paul Tierney not afraid of reaching for his pocket.
The first half went by without real incident, the early shots the Clarets had didn’t really test Angus Gunn while Norwich were incredibly passive.
The introduction of Manuel Benson gave the Clarets real impotus, and it was the young Belgian who was key to unlocking the Norwich defence as his cross was inexplicably handled by ex Blackburn Rovers centre back Grant Hanley, no hesitation from Tierney to point to the spot with 79 minutes on the clock.
Ever-reliable Jay Rodriguez slammed the penalty high into the middle of the goal to notch his 50th league goal for the Clarets and give them something to defend for the last 9 minutes or so.
Norwich did finally create a few chances, the best of which saw Teemu Pukki shoot almost straight at Aro Muric in the Burnley goal, a poor effort from the Finn who looks desperately short of confidence.
Burnley survived the late onslaught from the visitors to take their place at the summit of the table, if only until Friday. Norwich are now winless in 6 and remain 7th.
Next up for Kompany’s men is Reading, who visit Turf Moor on Saturday.
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