Middlesbrough 0-1 Norwich City: Teemu Pukki penalty gives victory to Canarias

Norwich rose to the top of the championship after a history of two penalties in the second half that saw them win at Middlesbrough.

Twenty minutes later Norwich’s Max Aarons was brought down in the box by Hayden Coulson and Teemu Pukki coldly sent home goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli down the wrong path.

Boro couldn’t create much in the final stages, although Britt Assombalonga was denied from close range by an excellent block from Grant Hanley.

The lost points for Reading and Watford mean Daniel Farke’s Canaries are one point ahead at the top, while their opponents drop one place to eighth after a first loss in 11 league games.

In a game between two of the best defenders in the championship, the lack of clear opportunities came as no surprise, although Marvin Johnson called Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul into action twice in the first half.

Middlesbrough received a penalty when Tavernier was brought down by former Boro center-back Ben Gibson and, although the penalty was scored, it was ruled out because the midfielder was unlucky enough to touch the ball twice when he lost his balance.

Norwich gained momentum thanks to his stroke of luck and Emi Buendia nearly connected to a low cross from Przemyslaw Placheta before half-time substitute Pukki took his penalty in the corner.

Marc Bola risked his body to prevent the visitors from scoring a second, but Boro failed to score in a third straight game and has now lost each of their last five league games against Norwich by a score of 1-0.