Norwich City vs Rotherham United. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow RoadAttendance26,111.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Norwich City and Rotherham United at Carrow Road on Saturday | Two goals from Gabriel Sara and one each from Jacob Sorensen, Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent help Canaries to crushing win
Saturday 9 March 2024 18:38, UK
Norwich got their Championship play-off bid well and truly back on track after a midweek defeat as they hammered bottom side Rotherham 5-0 at Carrow Road.
The Canaries bounced back from a 3-1 reverse at Middlesbrough in the perfect fashion by recording their biggest win of the season, with four of the goals coming in a one-sided first half.
Gabriel Sara led the way with a brace to reach double figures for the campaign while Jacob Sorensen, Borja Sainz and the prolific Josh Sargent were also on target.
For Rotherham it was a ninth straight defeat, and their second 5-0 reverse in a row, and there is now every chance their seemingly inevitable relegation will be confirmed before the end of the month.
Norwich had the game won by half-time, with a mixture of slick attacking play and some abysmal defending from the visitors contributing to the scoreline.
The stage was set as early as the 13th minute when Jack Stacey crossed for an unmarked Sara to head home the simplest of openers.
Rotherham defender Cameron Humphreys contributed to the goal with a weak attempt to stop the ball coming in, and the Millers were all at sea again after 21 minutes as the Norwich made it two.
This time a Sara corner from the right was guided home by the Sorensen for his first goal of an injury-hit campaign, with no visiting defenders near him.
Norwich's third just past the half-hour mark came from a superb run and strike from Sainz, who won an appeal against a midweek red card on Friday - but again Rotherham failed to put in a tackle or block.
Top scorer Sargent twice went close to increasing the lead before getting his goal on the stroke of half-time, converting at the back post after being picked out by a fast-breaking Stacey.
The outclassed visitors failed to muster an effort of any kind in an embarrassingly one-sided opening period and they found themselves further behind two minutes after the break.
Keeper Viktor Johansson did well to keep out a powerful drive from Sargent but the ball spun out towards Sara who conjured up a brilliant acrobatic volley into the top corner to make it 5-0.
David Wagner's side tended to take their foot off the pedal slightly after that, with Millers' substitute Jordan Hugill finally registering his side's first effort of note with a header which sailed well over.
The hosts had several opportunities to stretch their lead in the closing stages but had to settle for a nap hand.
Norwich's David Wagner:
"It was a top-class performance, a fantastic afternoon. In every game you play you need the players to show passion, hunger and desire and we saw all those things from them today.
"It was a game people were expecting us to win but you have to prepare properly whoever you are playing. We did that and then, from the very first minute, the players were focused, they were really on it.
"We scored some really good goals and defended well to keep a clean sheet. The players deserve all the credit they get after that.
"I would rather be in the top six than not with nine games to go, but at the moment it is not important.
"From now on I want us to be super ambitious, but very humble, talk less and work more. Because the only thing that matters is where we are after 46 games."
Rotherham's Leam Richardson:
"It was a poor performance, a poor result and a poor reaction to the defeat in midweek.
"There is a way we want to finish the season, and it is certainly not like this. There were two 'worldie' goals in there I suppose, but there was also some bad defending - the first one was just basic stuff which we didn't get right.
"I picked the side and I take full responsibility. It has been a horrible week for the staff and the players but the people I feel really sick for are the fans who have come all the way to Coventry and Norwich to support us.
"We just need to start picking up some points again. There is a very flat feeling at club at the moment but there are still nine games to go for us to do something about that."
