Norwich City 0, Chelsea 1 - What the nationals said

Thursday, December 27, 2012
11:35 AM

The national newspapers’ views on Norwich City’s 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea.

The Guardian: “For the interim manager Rafael Benítez, the manner in which his players comfortably contained Chris Hughton’s determined, organised Norwich side, while always carrying the greater threat going forward, was a continued demonstration of their all-round improvement in recent matches.”

The Daily Telegraph: “Mata’s wonderful strike illuminated a game often bereft of attacking flair, while Norwich discovered that the heady performances of recent weeks at last caught up with them. They did not force Petr Cech into a noteworthy save all match.”

The Mirror: “While Norwich were all endeavour, they never looked like getting anything out of this one, their efforts foundering on Chelsea’s defensive resolve.”

The Sun: “Norwich will be disappointed they did not offer more to warm their fans on a grim Boxing Day afternoon. But, at the same time, Chelsea deserve credit for restricting their chances to a minimum.”

The Daily Mail: “The visitors were slow into their rhythm but once they took a grip, they squeezed the life from a team who have beaten Manchester United and Arsenal this season.”

The Times: “It was a controlled, rather than captivating, performance from Chelsea, but when two of your rivals have been overrun and humiliated at Carrow Road this season, victory was all that mattered.”

The Daily Express: “Norwich had decent spells of possession but were too blunted in attack to ever truly test Petr Cech.”

The Independent: “It was hard to see Norwich gaining anything from a game in which they had worked hard but been able to create little, and their loss might have been heavier but for Bunn.”