There was very little for the Swans to worry about throughout the entire game at Carrow Road yesterday afternoon which ended in a 3-0 win for Russell Martin’s rejuvenated team. That’s six wins in seven for Swansea City and results this weekend have given them a glimmer of hope of a play off place.

However, it is extremely slim.

From the off Swansea gradually eased their way in to their fluid style of play and began to dominate proceedings. Norwich did have a couple of opportunities, one a fierce shot which Andy Fisher handled well and another effort which he took at the second attempt. Another hard drive in to the Swansea penalty area saw the perfect ball for a Norwich player to tap in but no bodies were advanced enough to take advantage. The only other threat came from a perfectly weighted cross which Norwich failed to convert with the ball running out of play.

That was pretty much all the home side could conjure up.

The most effective areas for the Swans are illustrated below with a nod in the direction of the home side for their aggression and chances created despite their low possession stats.

After a pretty admirable performance on Wednesday night in the 4-2 defeat of Preston North End Joel Latibeaudiere earned a top man of the match rating who along with Olivier Ntcham was aggressive and direct when allowed to be. Ryan Manning who marshalled the Swans left hand side well also score highly.

The Swans never looked unhappy either on the ball or when moving forwards dangerously in possession. The first goal was an excellent finish by Latibeaudiere ( below ) with his head from a corner. The second goal saw Manning provide Liam Cullen with a lovely chip to head easily home. At this point the home crowd turned on the Norwich board and vociferously against manager David Wagner. The Canaries were so submissive and out of touch with the visitors passing they looked like they could concede at every Swansea attack.

When Liam Cullen got forward after a superb pass from Joel Piroe he was brought down with just the goalkeeper to beat. The offending Norwich player was sent off by referee David Webb and that saw them down to ten men. Norwich looked a team already defeated. Further chances were made by the Swans which saw Manning and Cullen go very close. However after that the visitors seemed happy to toy with the opposition until the half time whistle.

Many would have been expecting a Norwich City onslaught in the second half. However, they came out seemingly with the mindset to keep their embarrassment down to a minimum. Swansea passed and passed as the home crowd grew increasingly frustrated. If there is a criticism of the Swans it would be their failure to take ahold of Norwich and literally wring their necks. They were there for any result Swansea wanted to inflict upon them. It was the most complete performance of the season from Russell Martin’s men. They looked relaxed and confident but really not keen enough to add to the scoreline.

When Olivier Ntcham decided enough was enough he strongly fended off two Norwich defenders and slotted home the Swans third goal of the afternoon. He then celebrated with the dreaded double somersault as the Carrow Road faithful screamed for their team to at least put some effort in. Any attacking opportunities for the home side were gifted to them by the Swans but as soon as they retrieved the ball Norwich fell back in to a bank of five at the back with four in front.

Yes, it was a difficult task to penetrate such a defensive formation as the Swans probed and slowly passed the ball around their opponents. It is a fact that had the away side wanted more goals they could have easily opened up Norwich City. They laid off that approach and to the frustration of some Swansea fans decided to control the ball and pass the final third of the game away with limited opposition. It was an embarrassment for the home support, it is unlikely they have witnessed their side totally out played and out thought all season. It was a masterclass by the Swans who could have gone on and scored three or four more goals. That would have aided their goal difference should that become an issue at the end of this season in two games time.

The next set of stats really don’t tell anywhere near the full story and on the face of it maybe someone who didn’t witness this game would see Norwich as in the match throughout. That simply wasn’t the case, if there is a team that has basically laid down and given up this season more than Norwich City then I’ve personally not seen it.

This next set of stats possibly gives a more one sided look at events.

Of course as many now know Swansea City dominate games with total possession, Nearly a thousand passes, and no Norwich response displays how easy this game was for the visitors. The short passing stat is ridiculous and hasn’t been matched by any championship side this season, it also displays how much in control the Swans were and indeed how much they could have closed this game down by a far bigger score line.

There are two more games left this season, nine are easy, away at Hull City and then finishing off at home to West Bromwich Albion. It has to be said if ever there has been a more dominant game of football in memory than the one we witnessed at Carrow Road yesterday it must have been in black and white. Or maybe Arbroath v Bon Accord came close ?

Norwich City: Gunn; Aarons, Omobamidele (C), McCallum, Sorensen; Idah (Byram 45), Sara, Hernandez, Nunez, Gibbs; Sargent.

Subs not used: Krul, Hayden, Tzolis, Pukki, Rowe, Kamara.

Yellow card: 🟨 Gibbs 82

Red card: 🟥 McCallum 42

Swansea City: Fisher; 7 Latibeaudiere, 8 Cabango, 7 Wood, 8 Manning 7 (Naughton 86); Grimes (C), 7 Ntcham 8 (Cooper 80), Cundle, 7 Paterson 7 (Whittaker 65); 6 Piroe, 6 Cullen 7 (Congreve 86).

Subs not used: Sondegaard, Darling, Sorinola.

Goals: Latibeaudiere 23, Cullen 39, Ntcham 64

Yellow card: 🟨 Grimes 74

Referee: David Webb 7/10 : Made the correct decision regards the sending off and possibly had the easiest game he has had to officiate all season.

Photographs with permission Swansea City AFC

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