Neil: Norwich’s slide down to lack of quality, not luck
Alex Neil refused to blame the officials or a lack of fortune for Norwich’s defeat to Chelsea, instead lamenting his side’s familiar failings.
The Blues earned their third straight Premier League win at Carrow Road but the result came amid controversy as Diego Costa’s decisive goal came from an offside position in first-half added time.
Neil refused to be too harsh on the officials and saved most of his frustration for his side’s inability to finish their chances.
“[Costa] is offside. I’ve seen it back on the video,” Neil said.
“You would expect the officials to get it right. It’s disappointing they don’t get it right. They’ll be disappointed they didn’t get it right. But the linesman’s called it how he saw it.
“It’s not as if he’s two or three yards offside. He’s probably a yard, half a yard. You’d like to think he would’ve got that one correct, but when you’re down at that bottom end those wee bits of fortune that you look for just don’t come your way.
“It’s probably been the story of our last few games. We had better opportunities than Leicester, lost the game. West Ham we were 2-0 up, looking comfortable and we managed to draw. Liverpool we were 3-1 up and managed to lose the game.
“When that’s a continuous thing that keeps happening, I don’t think it boils down to just luck. Quality shows and at times we missed opportunities we should’ve taken.”
Midfielder Alex Tettey went off in the first half for a precautionary X-Ray on a leg injury and Gary O’Neil required stitches to a two-inch gash on his head following a clash with team-mate Robbie Brady, who lost two teeth and chipped another.