Michail Antonio scored four goals to consign Norwich City to relegation on Saturday afternoon, sending the Canaries back down to the Championship. His first and fourth goals were close-range tap-ins, while his second and third were headers. The strike-rate of 1.25 goals per game is a new career high for the 27-year-old.
Norwich had been in contention for a spot in the Premier League until late in the season but they could only finish in 17th place, six points above the drop zone. They were unable to build upon last year's impressive campaign which saw them win the EFL Cup and reach the FA Cup final. Manager Alex Neil said after the game that he was "disappointed but not surprised" by how many players left the club this summer. He added that he hoped to keep most of the squad together for next season.
Antonio has been one of the few bright spots during an inconsistent season for the Canaries. The £5 million signing from West Ham United in July 2015 was expected to provide firepower from outside the box but he has ended up as one of the team's best passers and creators. He has also scored twice in nine appearances this season against Chelsea and Manchester City.
The improbable triumph of Norwich City against champions Manchester City's 2-1 Premier League defeat was in keeping with the team's approach under Daniel Farke. The top Premier League stats include a free transfer who can't stop scoring, penalty box predators, Frank Lampard's poor start and brilliant substitutes, and the free transfer who can't stop scoring. Manchester City won the match by a single goal thanks to a first-half strike from Christian Atsu and a second-half own goal from Josh Murphy. City played most of the game without injured star players Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva but stayed on course for a record 11th title with two games remaining.
Norwich came into the match in fourth place, three points behind City and Chelsea. They had lost their last two matches but have since won both games they have played to move up to third place. City were fifth, six points behind Norwich and just above Liverpool in fourth place. The Canaries took the lead in the 22nd minute when Atsu scored his first goal for Norwich. It wasn't long before Murphy scored an own goal to make it 1-1 at the end of the first half. In the 56th minute, Atsu scored again this time from the penalty spot to give Norwich a 2-1 lead. That's how the match finished despite having only 10 men on the field because Pablo Zabaleta was sent off for elbowing James Maddison during injury time.
Norwich City emerged as a surprise championship contender in 1992–93, the Premier League's debut season, before collapsing in the closing weeks to finish third behind winners Manchester United and runners-up Aston Villa. They recovered the next season to finish second, five points behind Manchester United and featuring in the play-offs for a place in the newly created Champions League.
City then fell away badly and were relegated in 1994–95 after finishing 15th out of 16 teams. They never recovered their previous form and were promoted back into the top flight after winning the Championship in 2001–02. However, they were relegated again only two years later and have been continuously competing in the Premier League since then.
During their time in the Premier League, Norwich have always finished between 10th and 17th place, with their highest position being 4th. They have reached the FA Cup final twice but lost 1-0 to Liverpool both times and also lost in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup once to Borussia Dortmund.
After four seasons in the Championship, Norwich were promoted back to the Premier League as champions. This is their first return to the top flight since 1992–93 and also means that they have remained in the league ever since.
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