Bottom club Norwich City remain without a Premier League win 10 games into the season after slumping to defeat against fellow strugglers Leeds United at Carrow Road.
After a dour first half, the match burst into life when Raphinha dribbled past three players to fire the visitors into a 56th-minute lead after being picked out by Dan James.
Norwich were level inside two minutes when 19-year-old defender Andrew Omobamidele headed home from a corner needlessly conceded by keeper Illan Meslier.
But Leeds restored their advantage on the hour through Rodrigo’s long-range effort after Norwich had lost possession outside their own box.
It was an improved performance by the Canaries after their humiliating 7-0 defeat at Chelsea last week, but Daniel Farke’s side have now lost eight of their 10 matches since winning the Championship with 97 points last season.
James went closest to scoring in the first half after rounding Tim Krul but Grant Hanley was in the right place to clear his attempt off the line.
The hosts at least showed more desire than they did at Stamford Bridge, but once again they lacked any real attacking threat.
Teemu Pukki and Mathias Normann both went close with first-time attempts and Milot Rashica forced a save from a free-kick.
Norwich also felt they should have had a penalty in the early stages when the ball struck James but referee Anthony Taylor waved away their appeals.
Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber came out fighting after the Chelsea debacle stating “we’ve not come into this league to be tourists”, while reminding the club’s critics that the Canaries were the 11th highest spenders in Europe during the summer transfer window.
But with more than a quarter of the season gone, the table makes miserable reading for Farke and his players.
Eight defeats in 10 games, just three goals scored and conceding at a rate of 2.5 per game.
This was a must-win after their rout in London and although there was an improvement of sorts, Norwich are eight points from safety with fans wondering where their next point – never mind victory – is going to come from.
Leeds have struggled themselves and arrived at Carrow Road having won just once, with Farke targeting this match to finally get his side’s season up and running.
Instead Norwich remain on two points – five fewer than at the same stage two seasons ago when they were relegated with three games left.
Their players looked bewildered at the final whistle as the visitors celebrated a first away win of the campaign.
Without injured trio Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling and Robin Koch, Leeds have struggled to find the momentum that propelled them to a top-nine finish last season.
They started this game in the bottom three but after Raphinha provided some real quality in attack, they now sit four points off 10th-placed Leicester, who they host next Sunday.
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