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Ollie Watkins scored his ninth league goal of the seasonNorwich were relegated from the Premier League with defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
The tame loss, coupled with Burnley's dramatic comeback win at Watford, left the Canaries bottom of the table and 13 points from safety with four games to play.
Their fans continued to support as a relegation that has looked on the cards for some time was confirmed.
Ollie Watkins put Villa ahead in the first half, capitalising on a slip from Brandon Williams before lashing high into the net.
Williams' error summed up Norwich's season, as did their lack of potency in front of goal. They created limited openings, while Villa hit the woodwork in each half.
Danny Ings added a late goal in stoppage time to add to Norwich's misery.
The low-key win for Villa ends a five-match winless run, lifts them to 13th in the table and takes them to the 40-point mark.
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Norwich head back to the Championship again
This is the third successive time Norwich have been immediately relegated following promotion to the Premier League.
The afternoon was particularly painful for Norwich boss Dean Smith given that he left Villa earlier this season.
In truth, Norwich's slide back to the second tier has looked likely throughout a season when they have rarely reached the standard required of a top-flight team.
Again, they were spirited and had good spells in possession, but their lack of threat in front of goal was once again laid bare, a diving stop to deny Milot Rashica from distance the only serious save Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez had to make.
There were issues at the back too with Villa's opener coming from a long, hopeful ball that was not cleared, even before Williams' slip. The full-back was also outmuscled by Watkins, whose finish was aided by a slight deflection.
At full-time the Norwich fans applauded their side's effort and there was no outpouring of emotion.
The club's joint majority shareholder Delia Smith watched from the stands and some may again question the hierarchy's resistance to spending big following promotion.
But their prudency, and manager Smith's previous promotion with Villa, should leave Norwich well placed to bounce back once again.
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Aston Villa
Squad number1Player nameMartínez
Squad number2Player nameCash
Squad number16Player nameChambers
Squad number5Player nameMings
Squad number27Player nameDigne
Squad number47Player nameIroegbunam
Squad number31Player nameBailey
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
Squad number41Player nameJ Ramsey
Squad number23Player namePhilippe Coutinho
Squad number11Player nameWatkins
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
Squad number10Player nameBuendía
Squad number20Player nameIngs
Norwich City
Squad number1Player nameKrul
Squad number2Player nameAarons
Squad number5Player nameHanley
Squad number3Player nameByram
Squad number21Player nameWilliams
Squad number8Player nameGilmour
Squad number16Player nameNormann
Squad number10Player nameDowell
Squad number20Player nameLees-Melou
Squad number17Player nameRashica
Squad number22Player namePukki
Squad number7Player nameRupp
Squad number24Player nameSargent
Squad number46Player nameRowe
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Martínez
- 2Cash
- 16ChambersBooked at 44mins
- 5Mings
- 27Digne
- 47IroegbunamBooked at 61minsSubstituted forDouglas Luizat 73'minutes
- 31BaileySubstituted forIngsat 40'minutesBooked at 65mins
- 7McGinn
- 41J RamseyBooked at 67mins
- 23CoutinhoSubstituted forBuendíaat 76'minutes
- 11Watkins
Substitutes
- 4Konsa
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 10Buendía
- 15Traoré
- 18Young
- 19Nakamba
- 20Ings
- 25Olsen
- 33Chukwuemeka
Norwich
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Krul
- 2AaronsBooked at 23mins
- 5Hanley
- 3Byram
- 21Williams
- 8Gilmour
- 16Normann
- 10Dowell
- 20Lees-MelouSubstituted forSargentat 67'minutesSubstituted forRuppat 81'minutes
- 17RashicaSubstituted forRoweat 78'minutes
- 22Pukki
Substitutes
- 4Gibson
- 7Rupp
- 11Placheta
- 18Tzolis
- 19Sørensen
- 24Sargent
- 28Gunn
- 30Giannoulis
- 46Rowe
Referee:John Brooks
Attendance:40,290
Live Text
Match ends, Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0.
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0.
Goal! Aston Villa 2, Norwich City 0. Danny Ings (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Emiliano Buendía.
Attempt saved. Jacob Ramsey (Aston Villa) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Emiliano Buendía.
Attempt missed. Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
Foul by Mathias Normann (Norwich City).
John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Lukas Rupp (Norwich City).
Matthew Cash (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Max Aarons (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Emiliano Buendía (Aston Villa).
Foul by Teemu Pukki (Norwich City).
Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Norwich City. Lukas Rupp replaces Joshua Sargent because of an injury.
Brandon Williams (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
Attempt missed. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Danny Ings.
Attempt blocked. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Digne.
Substitution, Norwich City. Jonathan Rowe replaces Milot Rashica.
Offside, Aston Villa. Emiliano Buendía tries a through ball, but Danny Ings is caught offside.
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