Norwich City head coach Daniel Farke described Saturday’s 3-1 victory at Bristol City as a ‘brilliant away win’ for the Canaries.
“I’m pretty pleased,” he said. “It was a tough away game against a team who were sitting above us in the table. The games are coming thick and fast and to deliver on all three games with consistency is not easy on this level.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the outcome of 13 points out of the last five games and unbeaten. It’s a brilliant away win here at Bristol.
“Especially in the first half, it was a really top class performance. I’d have preferred a bit more control in the second half in our possession to score the fourth goal and we gave away an unnecessary penalty.
“That could always be a turning point in such a game, so it was a warning that although you have a good performance you always have to be switched on on this level, but I definitely can’t complain too much today. We’re all pleased with this important win.”
It wasn’t just the win, but the nature of the goals scored that impressed the boss, with three pinpoint assists leading to three accurate finishes in the first half.
“It was more or less the most important topic that we had to improve; to be concentrated and we were there with brilliant team goals in the first half with brilliant moves,” Farke said.
“They were really good final passes from Marco Stiepermann, Jacob Sorensen cutting inside onto his right foot to find Teemu in an excellent way, and then a brilliant pass from Ben Gibson. We always had a clinical first touch and good finish.
“Bristol are a good side who tried everything. They changed their base formation and brought many offensive players on.
“Apart from the penalty situation, we didn’t give too many chances away. All in all, with three away goals I can’t complain too much.”
Buendia’s goal coming on the brink of half-time showed good game management from Norwich, who responded admirably to conceding in the 16th minute.
“It’s a sign of a winning mentality - scoring the goals at the right moments,” Farke added. “We had everything under control at 2-0 up, then just one moment when we didn’t shift quick enough they counter-attacked and scored their first goal.
“They were greedy to come back into the game but we gained control back pretty quick. It was a world class third goal - a fantastic pass from Gibson and a first touch that looked easy, only because Emi made it look easy.
“Top players make football games look simple and it was a top class first touch with an ice-cold finish. It’s important for my offensive players to add end product with assists and goals.
“Emi had a goal today so I’m happy with this.”
The good form sees Norwich sitting second in the Championship at the time of writing, not that Farke is getting carried away with the league table any time soon.
“We have a little bit of momentum as no other team has 13 points from the last five games,” he said. “You can’t deny that we are the team of the moment, but it doesn’t mean anything because momentum on this level can change that quickly.
“You always have to be aware. We know we’ve had a decent start and are in a good situation to build on, especially after suffering relegation.
“It doesn’t mean anything if you’re in a good position right now. The only thing that counts is to be in a top class position at the end of the season.
“17 points after nine games is great without a doubt, a top average, but if we don’t add any more points, we’ll probably be relegated, so it’s important that we’re not over the moon too much, but that we’re concentrated and focused and take confidence and self-belief.
“We want to go further on exactly with this mood, but we also have to stay greedy and make sure we’re switched on in the next games and perhaps improve in a few topics.”