Norwich manager Daniel Farke felt his table-topping side got what they deserved in the end after recording a dramatic 3-2 victory over struggling Bolton at Carrow Road.

After throwing away a 2-0 lead, the Canaries had to rely on a stoppage-time winner from top scorer Teemu Pukki to take all three points, with the result opening up a six-point gap on third-placed Derby.

Farke refused to dwell on the poor defending that allowed the Trotters back into the game, preferring instead to focus on the qualities displayed by his side over the course of the 90 minutes.

He said: "This was a really special win for the way it was achieved and I think it was fully deserved.

"For the first 70 minutes it was a really good performance from the boys. We had 70 per cent of possession, we created a lot of chances, had 20 shots and we scored two goals.

"Our football was high class and all we lacked was a third or fourth goal to kill the game off.

"Then they get a goal back out of nothing and equalise when a second ball goes to one of their players in the box.

"We could maybe have done better but this is not a day when I want to focus on mistakes, especially with such a young side out there on the pitch.

"I want to focus on the way we turned around the situation again after it became 2-2. When a side gets a late equaliser like that it is they who have the momentum and more often than not the side who has conceded will be happy to take a point and try and learn from it.

"But we have shown fantastic spirit to come back and get a third goal to win the game and I am very proud of all the players.

"We are in a great position in the table but there are still 25 games to go and this is no time to start looking too far ahead. Let's all just enjoy this win for a while and then move on to the next one."

Farke paid tribute to Pukki after the Finn fired another dramatic winner to go with the injury-time effort against Millwall at Carrow Road last month.

He added: "To be honest it was not one of Teemu's better games, even though his work-rate was as good as always. His timing was a little bit off and he missed a chance he would normally take but he kept going for the team and got his reward in the end."

Norwich went in at the break 1-0 ahead courtesy of Mario Vrancic's low shot from just outside the box in the 39th minute and looked to be cruising when Mario Stiepermann blasted home a second just before the hour mark after a slick move.

But Bolton got one back three minutes later through Sammy Ameobi's close-range finish and equalised after 88 minutes when defender Mark Beevers pounced on the loose ball.

Norwich had the final say, though, in the second minute of added time when Pukki fired home first time from the edge of the box after being picked out by Todd Cantwell.

Bolton boss Phil Parkinson was proud of the way his players performed in difficult circumstances, with wages still being owed by the cash-strapped club.

Parkinson had no fresh news on when his men might be paid, with reports suggesting the PFA might get involved, but said the uncertainty was not affecting their level of performance.

He said: "It hasn't been easy but I am lucky enough to have a really good group of lads who show pride in the shirt and will always give it their all out there on the pitch and you saw that again. It was a really good effort and I should be sitting here talking about a point at the very least.

"That was hard to take, it really was. We took a very good Norwich side, who are top of the table, right down to the wire and there's no doubt we deserved to take something out of the game.

"I thought we got our game-plan spot on. We were solid when we didn't have the ball and when we did have it we caused them a lot of problems and created plenty of good chances.

"It's just a real shame we couldn't see the game out."

Pukki's winner came just after Bolton had been reduced to 10 men by a second yellow card for Ameobi, who was punished for pulling back Cantwell after a first-half foul on the same player.

Parkinson added: "I feel really sorry for Sammy because the second yellow card was harsh to say the least. He was already feeling bad because he had just been shoved over in their box for what looked like a stonewall penalty.

"Then he gets a second yellow card and I don't think it was clear who was fouling who, it was very soft. I think a better referee would have managed the situation a lot better."