Canaries knocked off their perch
Michail Antonio scored four goals for the first time in his career and sent Norwich back to the Championship.
The result in turn gives West Ham a fantastic chance of holding on to their Premier League status.
Davie Moyes’ decision to push Antonio from midfield to attack has been rewarded with six goals in four matches and that could prove to be invaluable.
The player paid tribute to that way his manager had tweaked the tactics.
He said: “It’s my first-ever match ball and hopefully I can add to it!
“We’ve been playing free-flowing, attacking football, the gaffer has told me to stay in the box and all my goals have come from inside the box.
“We’ve got a good goal difference now, so that’s an extra point.
“All the games coming up are cup finals. We believe that we will be safe.”
His manager maintains the player is reaping the rewards of a new fitness regime.
Moyes said: “When I first came back he was still injured and we were struggling to get him through 60 minutes.
“I think lockdown has helped and when we came back we worked him hard, he did all the work the other players did, he didn’t miss any sessions, all the hard and difficult ones.
“Not many people score four goals in a Premier League match.
“If Mick can get his capacity up, he has got the capabilities to do that.
“Prior to us arriving he wasn’t playing enough 90 minutes, he wasn’t conditioned to do so, but now he is playing 90 minutes comfortably.
“We are in a position where we have our noses in front and we have to make sure we do our job to remain a Premier League team.”
There’s no such optimism around Carrow Road.
The Canaries are the first team to be relegated from the Premier League on five separate occasions.
Daniel Farke’s side didn’t put up much of a fight and that will really disappoint their fans.
It’s inevitable that a period of uncertainty will now follow.
Scotland’s Kenny McLean came on for the last 12 minutes and he will be one of a number of players that might move on.
Antonio took his goals well, but he’ll never be under less pressure while hitting the net.
His first came when he volleyed home a flick-on from a corner kick. It was good technique but there was no pressure on the ball.
The points were in the bag because Norwich are the only top-flight team not to win a single point this season after going behind.
An unchallenged head flick just before the break doubled the Hammers’ lead.
At times, it looked like a pre-season game against a lower-league outfit.
Perhaps that’s not a surprise — Norwich really are a Championship-standard team.
A long ball from Noble then sent Antonio through on goal, Krul managed to stop his shot but it popped up into the air and he headed into an empty net.
That was his hat-trick and it became four with 15 minutes to play.
Fredericks crossed from the right and the 30-year-old calmly flicked home.
You have to wonder if playing behind closed doors has contributed to the downfall of Norwich.
The roar of a home crowd can so often boost teams that find themselves fighting for their lives.
This current situation means the players can’t even hear famous fan Delia Smith shouting, “Let’s be havin’ you!”
After the dust had settled, Canaries boss Daniel Farke said it was “not realistic” to expect his team to survive in the Premier League this season.
The German – who guided City to the Sky Bet Championship title last term – was honest regarding his own expectations of the squad.
He said: “Yes it is of course a disappointing day with the loss and the harsh loss, a 0-4, but today is also the day where relegation is finally confirmed and it is of course a big disappointment without any doubt.
“It is not like it is unexpected or not that we were not prepared for it but once it is really theoretically confirmed it feels even more disappointing and for that it’s a tough day today.
“We are always self-critical so the first step that you have to take is always to ask yourself what you could have done better. It is not the unexpected outcome.
“When I look at our team sheet today it is more or less the same Championship side from last season, just without some key players because they are injured.”