THE TROSS 1
MATHEMATICALLY, it might not be quite done and dusted.
Yet Norwich are as good as down for the third time in seven years after this fifth successive league defeat.
Daniel Farke’s basement boys, who were also relegated in 2014 and 2016, remain seven points adrift of safety.
Brighton, meanwhile, are just about safe after Leandro Trossard’s fourth goal of the campaign earned them their first win in nine away dates.
That fired Graham Potter’s troops nine points clear of the drop zone and their celebrations at the final whistle suggested they believe 36 points will be enough.
While his team may have become worryingly predictable – they had only one victory from 10 games in all competitions and a pathetic three goals scored in that period before yesterday – Farke continues to surprise.
Particularly with strange team selections. Yesterday, in a must-win clash, he dropped his top scorers Teemu Pukki and Todd Cantwell.
Weird – unless like the rest of the country he had already accepted the Canaries have no chance of survival and is already thinking ahead to next term. No such worries for Brighton, who since Project Restart have gradually pulled away from serious trouble with seven points from a possible 12.
And while they arrived in Norfolk without an away win since December, they always looked likely to end that travel sickness here.
Moments before the first-half drinks break, the visitors felt they should have had a penalty after Norwich full-back Max Aarons tangled with Trossard.
But despite a small tug on the arm, the Seagulls midfielder went down theatrically and his appeals were correctly ignored.
Within a minute of the resumption, though, the Belgian made amends as he broke the deadlock.
Australian playmaker Aaron Mooy was the creator with a fine run and cross into the area where Trossard had timed his run perfectly. His