Dennis receives first Premier League red card in Watford loss to Norwich City

Emmanuel Dennis received his first red card in the Premier League in Watford's 3-0 defeat against Norwich City on Friday.

Dennis was sent for a shower in the 78th minute after entering referee Mike Dean's book for a second bookable offence.

It was the second time the 24-year-old was sent off in his career, after he was shown a straight red card in Club Brugge's 1-1 draw with Gent in February 2019.

In the Premier League, the Nigeria international was initially cautioned in the first half and his expulsion means he will miss Watford's next top-tier game against Burnley on February 5.

He is yet to find the back of the net since he scored the opening goal in his side's 4-1 defeat to West Ham United on December 28.

Despite the three-game goal drought, Dennis is still Watford's top scorer with eight Premier League goals and five assists after 19 appearances in his debut season.

Joshua Sargent's brace and a stoppage-time own goal from Juraj Kucka condemned Claudio Ranieri's men to a fifth straight loss at Vicarage Road.

Friday's result left the Hornets without a win in nine matches across all competitions (a draw and eight losses), their longest run without a victory since December 2013 (10 games).

The encounter had an unusual stoppage just after the hour-mark when there was a partial power outage at Vicarage Road and it later resulted in the addition of 15 minutes after the usual 90 minutes.

Watford dropped to the relegation zone after the defeat and they are placed 18th in the league table with 14 points after 20 matches while Norwich City climbed to the 17th spot with 16 points after playing two games more.