Norwich City suffered their second defeat to Ipswich Town this season, losing 2-0 at Carrow Road in a contentious contest.

Jaden Philogene gave the Tractor Boys the lead from the spot after Anis Ben Slimane was ruled to have fouled Jack Taylor, and a magnificent George Hirst strike doubled their lead just before halftime.

Kieran McKenna’s side looked comfortable in the second half, though Marcelino Nunez was extremely fortunate not to receive a second yellow card after committing two fouls on a caution, and Ipswich removed the Chile international only 23 minutes after he came on.

Philippe Clement accused Ipswich Town’s Jack Taylor of ‘trying to cheat’.

So there was a lot of aftermath from the game, and the penalty was naturally a talking point since it gave Ipswich the opportunity to take the lead.

Slimane’s touch on Taylor appeared to be slight, with the Ireland international appearing on his way down after nicking the ball.

It’s safe to assume Clement wasn’t happy with the decision, as he told reporter Justin Allen it’s why he supports VAR, and he also had some harsh words for Taylor.

“That was terrific stuff in the first ten minutes, but then you get a penalty against us that, in my opinion, is not a penalty.

“Anis wants to clear the ball, the other player sees it a little sooner than him, a split second, and then he dives at Anis, and Anis doesn’t touch his leg, as if he’s done.

“We make a transition, and four or five seconds later, a decision is made to penalize us. That’s a game-changing moment, and it’s a difficult one.

“Because of that, as I’ve stated for weeks, I’m a fan of VAR to avoid these situations because this was never a penalty by VAR. This is a player attempting to cheat by appearing as if he was caught by a tackle and had fallen, which was not the truth, therefore he wins in this instance.

“More gamers will try to do those things if you don’t have an objective viewpoint. I understand that the referee cannot always be in the right position to see everything; that is impossible. That’s why they require objective assistance in these instances, since too many football games are decided by one or two moments, one or two goals, therefore these decisions must be correct.”

Ipswich Town capitalized on the decisions that went their way in Norwich City’s triumph.

The first goal is usually important in any game, so you can understand why Clement and Norwich are upset with Anthony Backhouse’s decision to award a penalty.

You don’t often hear a manager clearly state that a player attempted to cheat, so it may not sit well with some, but the reality is that Taylor was playing for that penalty, and there wasn’t enough contact to cause him to go down the way he did.

Ipswich will rightfully point out that it happens on a weekly basis around the country, but it is something that should be addressed.

Backhouse’s refusal to send Nunez off was also shocking, so it was a bad afternoon for the official, and while Ipswich were very outstanding in their overall performance, it would have been intriguing to see how the game would have played out if different decisions had been made.

When you consider the goal Birmingham had wrongfully disallowed at Portman Road last week, Ipswich are enjoying a lucky break right now, but McKenna’s players deserve credit for making the most of it.

That seemed like a statement win for Ipswich, and with Millwall and Middlesbrough both dropping points, they’re in a great position to secure an automatic return to the Premier League.