How it happened
Viking FK won at SK Brann 2-0 with a goalkeeper's performance as the backbone. Arild Østbø made seven saves and earned a match rating of 9, as the league leaders played from the 39th minute with ten men.
The visitors needed only 20 minutes to settle the scoreline. Henrik Heggheim, the defender, scored in the 11th minute, and P. Christiansen added a second in the 20th. Both goals came from a side that was about to be pinned back for the rest of the match.
K. Askildsen was sent off in the 39th minute, leaving Viking a player short with the interval still to come. Brann had the whole of the second half to find a way back and did not score.
The numbers
Brann dominated every attacking measure. They had 29 shots to Viking's nine, 13 corners to four, 80% of the possession and 2.57 expected goals to 1.25. Six of the home side's shots were on target, against four from Viking.
Viking were more efficient: two goals from four shots on target, while Østbø dealt with the volume at the other end. His rating of 9 was second only to Heggheim's 9.6 among the top performers.
Heggheim scored once, set up one goal, played a key pass and had 41 touches in 89 minutes. For Brann, the midfielder Jacob Lungi Sørensen was the best-rated player on 8.4, with 125 touches and two key passes.
What it means
The table showed Viking first with 53 points from 22 matches, Brann seventh on 29. Viking's recent sequence of WWWLDWWDLW became a little stronger with a win achieved under heavy pressure.
Brann's recent record before this fixture read LLWLLDWDWW. Their expected goals here exceeded what they managed in goals, a gap that left them without a score despite the territory.
In the 31 meetings between the clubs, Viking have won 14, Brann eight and nine have been drawn. The most recent previous meeting, on 18 April, finished Viking 3-2 Brann.