Chelsea Top Norwich in Brilliant Fashion

Eden Hazard scored his first non-PK league goal for Chelsea (Chelsea FC)

Norwich had the first eleven minutes today at Stamford Bridge.  The other 79 belonged firmly to Chelsea.  The Blues overcame a bit of a shaky start, especially on the defensive end, to blow out Norwich and keep hold of first place heading into the FIFA international break,

Chelsea looked a little ragged in their own penalty box in the early minutes, and Norwich's Grant Holt, ever the hard worker, was able to to take advantage.  In the 11th minute Leon Barnett headed a ball down into the path of Holt, who had way more space than he should have been given.  The Norwich forward rifled a shot past Petr Cech and into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 0-1 to the Canaries.

That was all the wake up Chelsea needed though.

Just three minutes later Branislav Ivanovic crossed a ball into the Norwich area where it found the head of Fernando Torres.  El Nino calmly deposited it into the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1.  It's his 6th goal of the year for the Blues across all competitions.  Just two minutes later Eden Hazard nearly put the Blues in front with an excellent volley chance, but he just mishit it and it trickled rather easily into the hands of John Ruddy.

However in the 22nd minute The Blues finally did grab the lead for good.  Torres tried a nice overhead kick in the area, but Ruddy managed to parry the shot away.   Unfortunately for him, the ball fell to Frank Lampard who volleyed home a cannon shot to make it 2-1 to Chelsea.  The Blues would get one more before halftime, as Juan Mata found Hazard with a seeing eye through ball in the 31st minute.  Hazard expertly one touched the ball inside the far post to give Chelsea the 3-1 lead going into the break.

Chelsea handled the Canaries pretty easily in the second half as well, though Grant Holt did get a decent look at a header in the 47th minute, only to see it glance a couple yards wide of the post.  Ruddy made a a couple of fantastic stops in 1v1 situations.  He snuffed out a nice run by Mata in the 58th, and then saved a sure goal from Torres in the 75th.

It was just one minute after that save on Torres that the Blues put the icing on the cake.  In the 76th minute Mata flipped a centering ball over the Norwich defense to Ivanovic who volleyed home the final goal of the match to make it 4-1 to Chelsea.  After that last strike, Norwich pretty much conceded, subbing out goal scorer Holt, and didn't trouble the Blues at all during the last 14 minutes.

The win keeps Chelsea in 1st place going into the break, regardless of  results on Sunday.  Norwich is still looking for their first win of the new season, and they remain in the bottom three.

EPL: Norwich vs Bolton

(Anthony Pilkington celebrates for Norwich--GETTY IMAGES)

I'll tell you one thing about my Premier League viewing habits. I catch Norwich every chance I get. They just get better and better every time I watch them. I really don't have a doubt in my mind that they and Swansea will stay up. Last weekend Bolton was the next team to be caught in the Canaries' web. Coming into the match Bolton had been playing a lot better and had come off the bottom of the table, but Norwich really was the better side in this encounter.

Norwich especially dominated the first half. They created chance after chance as Bolton's defense looked to be still in the locker room. Early chances were supplied by Zak Whitbread, who had a header sail just wide, and Grant Holt, who forced Bogdan into a save. Still they didn't get an especially troubling chance until the 24th minute when Andrew Surman collected a ball from Holt at about 4 yards out. Somehow, Surman clanged his shot off of the crossbar and it stayed 0-0.

It wasn't all roses in the first half for the Canaries though. They lost both of their starting center backs, including American Zak Whitbread to hamstring injuries. Bolton looked primed to take advantage. Martin Petrov hit a drive that was deflected just wide, and that was their best chance. The first half ended 0-0.

Poor finishing plagued Norwich again in the early minutes off the second half. This time it was Grant Holt who had the issues. He took a ball from Adam Drury and found himself unmarked in the box, but frustratingly watched his header go wide.

Norwich finally took the lead late. It was Andrew Surman who atoned for his terrible first half miss. In the 70th minute he got off a close range shot that was blocked by Bolton defender David Wheater. However, he stuck with it, got to the rebound, and smacked the ball into the back of the net to give the Canaries a much deserved 1-0 lead.

Bolton would get a couple of chances in the closing stages of the match, but couldn't convert. In the 79th minute Petrov came close again, but saw his volley saved. That was about all they could manage. Norwich sealed the 3 points in the 85th minute as Anthony Pilkington got a hold of another rebound, this one from a shot off of Russel Martin, and put it home to give Norwich the 2-0 win.

The 3 points are big for the Canaries after getting thumped against Sunderland last week, and moves them that much closer to safety. The loss came at a really bad time for Bolton, as it sees them not only fail to put any distance between them and the bottom of the pack, but drops them into the bottom three.

EPL: QPR vs. Norwich

So today in this battle of promoted squads we got to see both the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities of QPR Captain Joey Barton. The Dr. Jekyll side put them on the front foot after Norwich had controlled the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, Mr. Hyde showed up before half time and helped send QPR to their 8th loss in 11 matches.

Neil Warnock's side was hoping things were looking up coming into their first match of the 2012 calendar year. The transfer window was officially open and they had already added Manchester United striker Federico Macheda on loan. Macheda was in uniform and on the bench to start.

However the Canaries had other ideas right from the opening whistle. Of the three promoted teams, Swansea has gotten the most praise for playing possession football, or if you're one of their opponents, you might call it ball hogging. Norwich did their best to emulate that in the opening stages of today's match. Midfielder Simon Lappin made his EPL debut was quite active early on as was Anthony Pilkington.

However it was QPR that managed to strike first, against the run of play. On 11 minutes Clint Hill put a seeing eye centering pass down that somehow found it's way through the Norwich defenders. Barton came dashing into the area and blazed the ball into the back of the net from 12 yards out to make it 1-0 to the West Londoners.

Unfortunately the day didn't end up being all roses for Barton and QPR. In the 36th minute of play, Barton appeared to get into one of his trademark "situations" away from the ball with Norwich's Bradley Johnson. It was hard to see on replay, but Barton appeared to headbutt the Canary midfielder. Referee Neil Swarbrick consulted with his assistants and then proceeded to show the QPR Captain a red card, putting them down to ten men less than ten minutes before the half.

Rangers were hoping to ride the storm out until half time, but it didn't turn out that way. In the 43rd minute Pilkington found himself with space in the area and drilled the shot into the bottom of the goal to make it 1-1 at the half.

HERE COMES THE RED CARD (GETTY IMAGES)

You have to give credit to QPR though. They came out with both barrels blazing in the second half, determined not to just sit back and defend against the Canaries. Shaun Wright-Phillips checked in and got into the action right away, forcing a save out of John Ruddy.

However, eventually the extra man took it's toll and Norwich put the match away. Their coach had made a rare triple substitution in the 65th minute, and it paid off in the 82nd. Wes Hoolahan headed down a cross from Pilkingtion into the path of Steve Morison. Morison calmly stroked the ball into the back of the net to give the Canaries the 1-2 win.

All in all it was a match in which QPR's temper undid them, and Norwich showed a lot of heart to secure a vital 3 points on the road. At the end of the match QPR was sitting just above the drop zone on 17 points. Norwich is currently sitting in 9th at this writing, on 25 points. One would think that puts the Canaries more than half way to safety.

EPL: Norwich vs. Tottenham

About this time last season, those of us that watch the Barclay's Premier League were witnessing the curious case of Blackpool, newly promoted from the Championship and still hanging around the top half of the table come the festive period. Well, we all know how that turned out, unfortunately for the Tangerines.

This season all three of the promoted squads have done alright. QPR has the money a their disposal to try to buy the players to stay up. Swansea has been junk on the road but in very good form at home in Wales. Norwich has played pretty much everybody tough and has garnered my respect as an EPL fan.

This match against Tottenham was always going to be tough though. You'd really be hard pressed to find an EPL side in better form coming than Spurs, and they certainly flexed their muscles against the Canaries, or at least Gareth Bale did. To say that the Spurs really controlled the match would not really be an understatement, they had the possession and the chances.

Norwich fought hard, but really had a hard time getting chances from what possession they did get. Their best chance of the first half came on 16 minutes as David Fox smacked a line drive on goal, only to be easily corralled by Brad Friedel.

The two sides emerged from the half time break still level at nil-nil. That's when Gareth Bale took over. His first goal came on 55 minutes as he took a ball from Adebayor in the center of the area and slotted it home to give Spurs the 0-1 lead. Then in the 67th minute, he put the final nail in the coffin, breaking away after a through ball from Modric and outrunning everyone on the pitch. He beat the 'keeper and put in the back of the Canary net to make it 0-2.

That was more than enough for Spurs. Norwich just could not fashion a real quality chance to save their lives and Tottenham held on for the 0-2 win, giving them an even bigger hold on one of the Champions League spots.

EPL: Norwich vs. Arsenal

Actually, a better title for this post might have been "Norwich vs. Robin Van Persie. He seems to be the only gunner capable of finding the back of the net, but as far as they're concerned, at least somebody is I guess.

Arsenal came out absolutely on fire. They set up Van Persie in the area within the first minute, but he inexplicably hit his shot wide. It wouldn't be the only close call of the first half for Norwich though. Defender Russell Martin cleared not one, not two, but three balls off of his own goal line in the first 25 minutes.

However Norwich managed to take the lead in that first 25 minutes. How, you ask? Well of course through a characteristic Arsenal defensive blunder. In the 16th minute, Per Mertesacker failed to get to a ball into the area. In all fairness, it looked like the big German was just asleep. Norwich's Steve Morison jumped on it and put the shot into the net to make it 1-0 to the home side.

Arsenal's offense didn't skip much of a beat though. Robin Van Persie made sure of that. In the 26th minute, Theo Walcott found the captain in the six. Van Persie equalized with an easy tap in and we went to the half tied at 1-1.

The second half was mostly Arsenal, though both sides were a little sloppy. Arsenal seemed to just be comfortable and it was like they thought they could score anytime they wanted. That contributed to the sloppiness and choppiness of play. Norwich had their chances as well, but it was Robin Van Persie who put it way for Arsenal. A little past the hour, he chipped in over the Norwich keeper to make it 1-2 to the Gunners. They held on to win by that score.

All in all it was a less than convincing performance for Arsenal, especially on the defensive side of things. However, once again Norwich played hard but just didn't have the tools to deal with Van Persie or the weapons to create a ton of chances. Good match though.

EPL: Manchester United vs. Norwich

Sorry to say it, United fans, but this match was a snoozer. Maybe Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool should learn something from Norwich. They certainly gave the Red Devils everything they could handle at Old Trafford, much the same as they did versus Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The big story of the day was the chances that Norwich was able to carve out against the champs. In the early going, Elliot Bennett sliced his way into the United area and appeared set to find Steve Morison for a great chance at goal. Unfortunately, his cross went right to United defender Phil Jones and the danger ended. Anthony Pilkington had a couple of chances as well, but came off more like Karl Pilkington. He hit the post once and put another great shot wide of the target.

Norwich also played great defense. For most of the match they kept two 4 man lines in and around their penalty area and United had a real tough time breaking them down.

It didn't last forever though. Finally The Champs found a way to crawl on top. Anderson headed in a flick on by Rooney in the 68th minute to put United on top. Danny Welbeck added an insurance goal in the 87th that made the final 2-0 to United.

Not the most entertaining match you'll ever see, but you have to give Norwich credit for coming out with a good game plan and sticking to it. United seemed really frustrated throughout the match. In the end, it just wasn't enough for the Canaries.

EPL: Chelsea vs. Norwich.

Even as a Chelsea fan I have to admit, the final score line in this match was a little misleading. I think Norwich deserves a lot of credit for the way they've started this season. They play HARD.

Chelsea came out to a blistering start in a surprise 4-4-2 formation. Villas-Boas elected to pair Drogba and Torres up top instead of going with the 4-3-3 that Chelsea has sported. I think it was a great call. Bosingwa and Cole came up in awesome attacking roles, and Bosingwa was right in the action all night. In fact, he gave the Blues a goal with a laser shot in the 6th minute, 1-0 to the home side.

For the next few minutes, Chelsea continued to dominate, but around the 20th minute, Norwich got their feet under them. They forced several saves from Hilario and really tested the Chelsea back line. John Terry mixed it up with Holt all day. It became obvious that it wasn't going to be the walk in the park us Chelsea fans hoped for. Still, Frank Lampard just missed another goal for Chelsea right before half. The Blues led at the interval 1-0.

Villas-Boas must have rallied the troops at half time, because Chelsea was the stronger team for most of the second half. However, Norwich got their chance and the made the most of it. In the 63rd, Hilario and Ivanovic collided in the area for Chelsea and Holt hit the back of the net to tie it at 1-1. It got worse for Chelsea just minutes later as Drogba collided with the Norwich keeper and looked to be out cold. He was stretchered off and things looked kind of bleak.

After a lengthy stoppage to treat Drogba, Juan Mata and Nicholas Anelka checked in and Chelsea took control of the match. Finally. In the 80th minute Ruddy brought down Ramires in the box and got a red card for his trouble. The Canaries sent in their back up keeper, but he couldn't stop Lampard's PK, and it was 2-1 to Chelsea. The Blues added a cosmetic goal from Mata in the 11th minute of stoppage time to make 3-1 at full time.

Drogba was released from a London hospital last night, no word on how long he will be out. Lukaku made his Chelsea debut and looked pretty good. Before Drogba went down, he and Torres were starting to find the formula. Maybe Mata can unlock the Torres goals.

EPL: Wigan vs. Norwich City

Out of all the matches I had slated to watch this weekend, I was really most interested in seeing this one. Mostly because I wanted to get my first look at the Canaries back in the EPL.

If Norwich was going to start their new campaign on the road, they would have been hard pressed to find a better opponent than Wigan. Going into the final weekend last season, Wigan were in the bottom 3, and just barely managed to escape relegation. During the off season, they sold N'zogbia, arguably their best player, so you'll forgive Norwich in thinking they might have a shot at DW Stadium.

Things didn't look good in the early going for the Canaries though. Less than a minute into the match David Fox put in a nasty tackle on Di Santo to earn the first yellow of the day. Things would get worse for Norwich as well, as Victor Moses, trying to step up with N'zogbia gone, really torched the Canary defense on several occasions. However, it was a dumb mistake that cost them the first goal. Norwich defender Ritchie de Laet was dispossessed by Di Santo in his own end. He tried to chase him back into the box, but committed a foul conceding a PK. Boyce knocked the spot kick home to make it 1-0 to Wigan.

Norwich responded well though. I mean Wigan is still Wigan, and you know you're going to get your chances. Norwich got one right before the half and capitalized on it. Wigan 'keeper Al Habsi spilled a ball that came into the 6, and Wes Hoolahan slammed the ball into the net to equalize 1-1 at half time.

Both sides had chances in the second half, and both teams looked like they wanted all three points. Unfortunately, neither side was able to muster any finishing. Wigan had the better chances, including a shot from Boyce that hit the post, but the match finished 1-1.

Norwich will probably settle for a draw, but honestly, despite the fact that they played a spirited match, I think they're going to need some help to stay up. Wigan will rue the dropped points at home to a newly promoted team, but hey, last year Blackpool beat them 4-0 on opening day. They should also be impressed with the play of Victor Moses, who was a spark plug all match long.

Congrats to Norwich!

We now know the second of three teams who will be promoted to the Premier League next year in England. Norwich beat Portsmouth 1-0 and cemented the spot after Cardiff lost 3-0 to Middlesbrough.

Norwich joins QPR as automatic qualifiers. The third and final spot will be determined by a playoff between Cardiff, Swansea, Reading, and either Nottingham Forrest or Leeds.