Norwich City are the comeback kings in the Championship this season, after fighting back to win from a losing position for an impressive fifth time.
Daniel Farke’s promotion hopefuls demonstrated their character yet again at Carrow Road on Saturday, after twice falling behind to in-form Bristol City in the first half.
Goals from Ben Godfrey and Kenny McLean left the visiting Robins stunned after half-time though, to keep City’s automatic promotion hopes in good shape with 12 games remaining.
As well as reclaiming top spot in the table at the weekend, the fightback also moved Norwich back to the summit of the divisional standings for points gained from losing positions.
Based on statistics available at Transfermarkt.co.uk ahead of tonight’s matches, the Canaries were tied with title rivals Leeds on 21 points gained from matches during which they had trailed.
City have been in a losing position on one fewer occasion than the Yorkshire giants though, falling behind in 17 of their 34 games so far – showing their spirit to pick up five wins and six draws.
Third in the fightback rankings is Aston Villa, earning three wins and 10 draws to take 19 points from a losing position in 22 matches, ahead of West Brom, who have won four and drawn six to claim 18 points from the 18 games in which they were behind.
MORE: Dream big City fans but Farke is focused on delivering
At the other end of the scale there are seven teams who are yet to overcome a deficit and enjoy victory: Blackburn, Preston, Stoke, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Wigan and Bolton – with the latter two managing just three draws from losing positions.
Rock-bottom Ipswich, despite spending the vast majority of the campaign at the foot of the Championship, sit 16th in this table having rescued eight points from the jaws of defeat. The Blues’ one win and five draws were mostly managed under former boss Paul Hurst, overturning a deficit to draw just twice during Paul Lambert’s reign.
It’s been a very different story for the Norfolk boys though, who have already fought back to claim more points than they did during the entirety of last season. Farke’s first campaign in charge saw City losing in 16 games, forcing their way back to 16 points with three wins and seven draws, tied in fourth overall with Fulham – despite finishing 14th in the table.
The remnants of that fighting spirit have grown under the German’s guidance during 2018-19, starting from the very first day of this season...
FROM LOSING POSITIONS
• DRAW – Birmingham (a), Aug 4: Goals from Onel Hernandez in the 83rd minute and the fourth minute of injury-time twice brought the Canaries level, to draw 2-2 at St Andrew’s.
• DRAW – Ipswich (a), Sept 2: Moritz Leitner’s fine strike from the edge of the box in the 71st minute earned City a point amid the intensity of derby day, drawing 1-1 at Portman Road.
• WIN – Nottm Forest (a), Oct 20: Timm Klose’s headed brace, in the 60th and 84th minutes, cancelled out an early opener from ex-Norwich striker Lewis Grabban to snatch an excellent 2-1 success at the City Ground.
• WIN – Aston Villa (h), Oct 23: It was a similar story just three days later, with Jordan Rhodes the double goal-scorer this time, stepping in for the injured Teemu Pukki with goals in the 54th and 73rd minutes to bounce back from James Chester’s early goal and earn a 2-1 win at Carrow Road.
• WIN – Millwall (h), Nov 10: The drama peaked when the Canaries twice had to come from behind at Carrow Road against the Lions, with injury-time goals from Rhodes and Pukki eventually grabbing an epic 4-3 triumph amid chaotic celebrations.
• WIN – Rotherham (h), Dec 1: Another home fightback saw the lowly Millers ahead in the 11th minute, only for goals from Todd Cantwell, Max Aarons and Pukki to turn the situation around in the second half, in a 3-1 victory.
• DRAW – Bristol City (a), Dec 15: It was Aarons to the rescue again a fortnight later, heading in an equaliser in the 78th minute at Ashton Gate, to secure a 2-2 draw.
• DRAW – Nottm Forest (h), Dec 26: More chaos at Carrow Road, when a comeback from 3-0 down was sparked by Mario Vrancic in the 77th minute, before Onel Hernandez salvaged a 3-3 draw with an injury-time brace.
• DRAW – Brentford (a), Jan 1: A tired display was rescued by a Klose header in the 83rd minute at Griffin Park, picking up a galvanising 1-1 draw.
• DRAW – West Brom (a), Jan 12: More fresh life was breathed into an injury-hit Canaries squad with an excellent fightback to draw 1-1 at The Hawthorns, with McLean setting up fellow substitute Rhodes in the 83rd minute.
• WIN – Bristol City (h), Feb 23: The fifth win from a losing position saw City overturn a 2-1 deficit at the break thanks to a quality attacking display, with Godfrey equalising before McLean captured all three points with a sumptuous strike in the 66th minute.
TOTAL – 21 points, from 17 games
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