Michail Antonio's four goals seal Norwich City's Premier League record fifth relegation (video)
Michail Antonio’s pleasure was Norwich City’s pain on Saturday, as Antonio scored four times and West Ham beat Norwich 4-0 to help plunge the Canaries back down to the Championship.
Norwich’s fate was technically sealed when Watford simultaneously beat Newcastle 2-1, rendering Watford mathematically uncatchable in 17th place. But Antonio and West Ham sure didn’t make it pleasant on bottom-dwelling Norwich themselves.
Antonio lashed a headed corner into the net in the 11th minute to open his deluge, then scored on a free kick header himself in first-half stoppage time. He added two more goals in the second half, first following up Tim Krul’s parry of Antonio’s own shot and then darting near post to guide home Ryan Fredericks’ good work down the right.
Check out all four goals here:
Antonio is the first West Ham player to score four goals in a game in the Premier League era.
The Hammers needed this performance, and they’re now guaranteed to be at least three points clear of 18th place by the end of the weekend. (The bottom three teams in the 20-team table are relegated to the second-division EFL Championship.)
This marks the fifth time in the Premier League era Norwich has been relegated, which is the most demotions of any club during that span, and it’s the Canaries’ third one-and-done stint. It also means they’ve been good enough to get back to the top flight five times, which they’ll officially have to do again.
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