Norwich City are the in-form team in England as Philippe Clement’s side claimed a 3-1 victory against West Brom in the FA Cup on Saturday.
A first Norwich goal for Paris Maghoma began the scoring for the Norfolk club as Ben Chrisene netted the second. The unstoppable Mohamed Toure completed yet another impressive display with his fifth goal in just three games.
Norwich now have seven wins in their last eight games in all competitions as Clement continues to show why his side are the team to fear in the EFL Championship. With a run of favourable fixtures approaching in the league against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester, a late push for the play-offs is well within reason.
After the game against West Brom, Clement spoke positively about the team’s winning mentality.
He said: “I’ve been really clear towards the team that we want to win every game and that needs to become the culture from everybody in this dressing room”
In the 68th minute of the game, Norwich’s 1-0 lead was cancelled out by a Josh Maja chipped goal. However, the East Anglian side regained control of the game through two goals in the final ten minutes.
Clement remarked how the attitude to conceding the lead has changed since his arrival.
He said: “I think a few months ago if it became 1-1 ten minutes before the end, everyone on the pitch became nervous and for sure in the stands, and it’s totally not the case now. You didn’t feel anybody become nervous but more like ok we’re going to push now.”
Norwich’s recent success has come as a surprise for many considering their dismal start to the season under the tenure of Liam Manning. The Norfolk born manager failed to gain a single point at Carrow Road before his departure in November 2025, leaving the club 23rd in the league and four points from safety. Only Sheffield Wednesday were worse off following their 18-point deduction at the start of the season.
A new look Norwich City has formed within East Anglia since, but what has caused this?
Player signings
Norwich made 12 summer signings but only a handful of them made consistent first team appearances. Many of the new additions including attacking players like Mathias Kvistgaarden and Papa Amadou Diallo, alongside many already at the club, picked up injuries early on in the season. The thinning Norwich squad was in desperate need of some depth.
Ali Ahmed signed from Vancouver Whitecaps in January, having recorded 10 assists in 27 appearances in the MLS in 2025 prior to his move. The creative 25-year-old adapted supremely well to life in the Championship securing two goals and two assists in his first three games for the club.
Mohamed Toure, signed from Danish Superliga side Randers, is another player to mention. Just three games into his Norwich career, the Australian has already scored five goals, including a hattrick against relegation rivals Oxford. This marks him as the first player since Jesse Lingard in 2013 to score a hattrick on his first start for a club in England’s top four tiers.
Edmond-Paris Maghoma, another January signing, brought to Norwich from Brentford, shone in the FA Cup game against West Brom as he scored a header to give his side the lead. His performance won him the Player of the Match award in just his second game at the club.
Philippe Clement
The appointment of Philippe Clement has proven to be exactly what Norwich have needed. Before Clement’s appointment, the club were experiencing a run of 11 games without a win.
Following a 4-1 loss to Birmingham in the Belgian’s first game in charge that extended the run to 12 games, Norwich have only lost four times in 18 games in all competitions. This includes 11 wins, seven of which have come at home.
The attacking output of the squad has improved dramatically, also. In Clement’s 18 games, Norwich have scored 36 goals. This is in contrast to just the 16 scored under Manning. Norwich also failed to score more than twice in any one game under Manning’s tenure, a feat that Clement’s Norwich have achieved five times since.
This is also without mentioning the absence of prolific striker Josh Sargent who has not featured in the squad since a 2-0 loss to Stoke in January. The USA international was linked with a move to Toronto FC and was subsequently dropped by Clement for the FA Cup game against Walsall. Sargent has scored 56 times for the Norfolk outfit but his omission from the squad has been overshadowed by the brilliant attacking displays of Toure and Jovon Makama. The pair have dampened what would have otherwise been a catastrophic situation.
Since his exclusion, Norwich have lost just once to title chasing Middlesbrough.
Anis Ben Slimane
One key player that was overlooked by Manning was Anis Ben Slimane. The Tunisian midfielder had only featured once from the bench. However, his recent form since Manning’s departure has been more than impressive. Four goals and five assists in the last eight games in all competitions has made him one of the key players in Clement’s side.
For comparison, Slimane recorded just three goals and two assists throughout the entire 2024/2025 season, and he is currently experiencing the most prolific season of his career.
He was particularly impressive against West Brom in the most recent FA Cup game where he recorded two assists. The latter involved the Norwich midfielder controlling a long ball with his chest, flicking the ball over the defender to open up space, before using his head to tee up a tap in for Toure to extend Norwich’s lead to 3-1.
Slimane has transformed under Clement and evolved from bench warmer to main man in the midfield as both a creative and goalscoring threat.
Conclusion
Clement has breathed new life into a Norwich side that looked to be on the cusp of relegation just 15 games into the 2025/2026 season.
His team will face Birmingham on Saturday 21st February at Carrow Road. A win could see them move 10 points clear of the relegation zone, an unthinkable achievement just a few months ago.
