Match Analysis: Norwich City 0-0 Manchester City

Manchester City missed the opportunity to go top of the Premier League on Saturday afternoon after being held to a 0-0 draw by Norwich City.

Norwich started the better of the two teams before being put on the back foot when the visitors improved late on the first half.

Manuel Pellegrini's side lacked a cutting edge in attack and despite dominating for most of the second period, they were forced to settle for a goalless draw.

Below, Sports Mole takes a look at the key talking points from the game at Carrow Road.

Match statistics

Norwich Shots: 7 On target: 2 Possession: 32% Corners: 4 Fouls: 7

Man City Shots: 15 On target: 2 Possession: 68% Corners: 14 Fouls: 6

Was the result fair?

The match statistics suggest that it was a one-sided affair and for most of the game, that was true. However, City struggled to create many clear opportunities despite all of their possession. A lack of a cutting edge from the visitors cost them victory on an afternoon when they really should have made their dominance count.

Norwich's performance

Chris Hughton will be full of praise for his team and rightly so. Norwich started brightly and troubled their opponents early on thanks to an impressive first-half display from Nathan Redmond. It was inevitable that the home side would be put under pressure at some stage but they responded to the challenge impressively to produce a stubborn defensive display.

Man City's performance

It looked like the title contenders were still hungover from the defeat to Chelsea. They were sloppy in possession for most of the first half and didn't really find their form until the second half. Manuel Pellegrini's side did improve as the game progressed but they lacked their usual creativity in the final third of the pitch on a frustrating afternoon.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Joseph Yobo: An impressive defensive performance was typified by Yobo, who made his debut in the centre of defence for Norwich on Saturday. He led the back four admirably and his experience was key alongside Sebastien Bassong, who could have won this award on a different day. Top-class display from the Nigerian.

Biggest gaffe

Jesus Navas gets this dubious honour for his disappointing corners. It wasn't just one gaffe but countless mistakes from the Spanish winger as he continued to deliver poor crosses from the corner to waste chances for his side. Pellegrini will not have been pleased.

Referee performance

Jonathan Moss was eager to keep his cards in his pocket for most of the game before finally awarding three yellow cards in the second half. It was a pretty routine afternoon, with very few big decisions needing to be made by the man in the middle.

What next?

Norwich: The Canaries will look to build on this performance when they travel to the capital to meet West Ham United on Tuesday evening.

Man City: Pellegrini's side need a victory following two disappointing results and they'll welcome Sunderland to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.