In the early morning of January 22, Beijing time, in a relegation battle in the 23rd round of the Premier League, Norwich challenged Watford away. As a result, after 90 minutes, Norwich won 3-0, and the promotion horse, who had been at the bottom of the table before, escaped the relegation zone for the first time in the season.
The match was undoubtedly a relegation battle, with Norwich in 18th place before the game, while Watford were 17th. As long as the Canaries can win the game, they can temporarily escape the relegation zone and get enough breathing rights. The victory against Everton in the last round was very important for Norwich, which allowed them to get out of the bottom position.
Against Watford, all Norwich are very confident of winning two consecutive wins, after all, the Hornets' recent form is also very bad. In the course of the game, although Norwich did not have the advantage, their ability to seize opportunities was very strong.
Back in the second half, Sargent, who joined in the summer, played a masterpiece. In the 50th minute, he scored with a scorpion swing to help the team take the lead. This attack is the opportunity that Norwich scrambled to get, and it can be seen from this that the team still has a relegation heart.
In the 73rd minute of the match, Sargent's header broke the goal to help the team lead by 2 goals. The 21-year-old American teenager, who scored for the first time in a Premier League game in the early hours of the morning, set a new record in 10 years for Norwich, the club's first Norwich player to score two goals in a single Premier League away game in nearly 10 years.
Having an advantage in the relegation battle but falling behind 0-2 is a very uncomfortable thing for the 70-year-old Ranieri. However, in the later games, Dennis 2 yellow turned 1 red, which made the Hornets worse.
In injury time, Watford player Kutska swung himself. It seems that not only the opponents, but even their own players are causing trouble for Ranieri, does this really have to be traced back to the problem of kicking the manager out of class?
Due to a failure of field equipment at one point, the injury time of the game lasted up to 15 minutes. But in the case of a 3-goal lead, even if they give the home team more time, it is basically impossible for them to turn the tables in the case of playing 1 less person. In the end, 90 minutes later, Norwich won 3-0 and escaped the relegation zone for the first time in the season.
Under Dean Smith's leadership, Norwich finally had hope for victory. In the last four games, coach Dean Smith led the team to three victories. In 14 days, Norwich completed the FA Cup promotion and escape from the relegation zone, which can be described as a moment of change of life.