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Josh Sargent had not scored for Norwich City in the Premier League before this gameJosh Sargent scored twice to help Norwich City gain a much-needed victory over 10-man Watford and move out of the Premier League relegation zone for the first time this season.
Sargent acrobatically hooked Teemu Pukki's cross from behind him and saw it bounce in off the underside of the crossbar for Norwich's opener.
The 21-year-old's thumping header made it 2-0 after a lengthy stoppage in play because of a floodlight fault.
Norwich rubbed salt in Watford's wounds with a third goal late on - substitute Juraj Kucka poking past his own goalkeeper at the near post.
Sargent, who had not scored in the Premier League prior to this victory, celebrated wildly as he put his side in the driving seat midway through the second half.
Watford were stunned by his double and were further hampered by Emmanuel Dennis' sending off - the forward shown a second yellow card by referee Mike Dean for a rash challenge on Max Aarons.
Shortly before Kucka poked in Adam Idah's pull-back, Watford had a goal disallowed when Moussa Sissoko thumped in a stunning volley from an offside position.
Cucho Hernandez later hit the crossbar for Watford but Norwich were comfortable winners in the end, and move two points above the hosts in the table.
Claudio Ranieri's side still have two games in hand but it was an 11th defeat in 13 games during his tenure, while Dennis' sending-off means he will miss another crucial relegation battle with bottom side Burnley on 5 February.
Pressure mounts on relegation rivals
Watford forward Emmanuel Dennis' sending-off means he will be suspended for the trip to Burnley on 5 FebruarySargent's exuberant celebrations, echoed by the visiting Norwich supporters, showed how important this victory was to Dean Smith's side.
It is the first time this season Norwich have moved out of the bottom three, while defeat for Watford piles more pressure on manager Ranieri.
Norwich were most people's favourites to go down at Christmas but back-to-back wins over Everton and Watford have seen them shoot up the table from bottom to 17th in just over a week.
The relegation battle promises to continue as Burnley, now propping up the table, have five games in hand on Norwich, having had numerous games postponed because of Covid-19 cases and injuries.
Watford and Newcastle United also have games in hand, but with no side in the current bottom six winning more than five games this season, Norwich will be heavily boosted by their recent victories.
The Canaries face a tough February including games against Manchester City and Liverpool, but Watford are under pressure to bounce back against Burnley in their next match having already dropped points to relegation rivals Norwich and Newcastle in recent games.
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Watford
Squad number26Player nameBachmann
Squad number21Player nameKiko Femenía
Squad number27Player nameKabasele- Squad number22Player nameSamir
- Squad number14Player nameKamara
Squad number8Player nameCleverley- Squad number39Player nameKayembe
- Squad number19Player nameSissoko
- Squad number25Player nameDennis
- Squad number7Player nameKing
- Squad number10Player nameJoão Pedro
Squad number12Player nameSema- Squad number29Player nameCucho Hernández
- Squad number33Player nameKucka
Norwich City
Squad number28Player nameGunn
Squad number2Player nameAarons
Squad number5Player nameHanley
Squad number4Player nameGibson
Squad number21Player nameWilliams
Squad number24Player nameSargent
Squad number20Player nameLees-Melou
Squad number19Player nameSørensen
Squad number17Player nameRashica
Squad number35Player nameIdah
Squad number22Player namePukki
Squad number3Player nameByram
Squad number11Player namePlacheta
Squad number23Player nameMcLean
Line-ups
Watford
Formation 4-3-3
- 26Bachmann
- 21FemeníaSubstituted forKuckaat 89'minutes
- 27Kabasele
- 22Samir
- 14KamaraSubstituted forSemaat 84'minutes
- 8CleverleySubstituted forHernándezat 59'minutes
- 39Kayembe
- 19Sissoko
- 25DennisBooked at 78mins
- 7King
- 10João Pedro
Substitutes
- 2Ngakia
- 12Sema
- 17Fletcher
- 18Tufan
- 29Hernández
- 31Sierralta
- 33Kucka
- 35Elliot
- 42Morris
Norwich
Formation 4-4-2
- 28Gunn
- 2Aarons
- 5Hanley
- 4Gibson
- 21Williams
- 24Sargent
- 20Lees-Melou
- 19SørensenSubstituted forMcLeanat 21'minutesBooked at 38mins
- 17RashicaSubstituted forPlachetaat 90+6'minutes
- 35Idah
- 22PukkiSubstituted forByramat 87'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Byram
- 10Dowell
- 11Placheta
- 15Kabak
- 18Tzolis
- 23McLean
- 30Giannoulis
- 33McGovern
- 46Rowe
Referee:Mike Dean
Attendance:20,782
Live Text
Match ends, Watford 0, Norwich City 3.
Second Half ends, Watford 0, Norwich City 3.
Foul by Moussa Sissoko (Watford).
Brandon Williams (Norwich City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Moussa Sissoko (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Sam Byram (Norwich City).
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Max Aarons.
Attempt blocked. João Pedro (Watford) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Cucho Hernández (Watford) hits the bar with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Moussa Sissoko.
Attempt missed. Joshua King (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Substitution, Norwich City. Przemyslaw Placheta replaces Milot Rashica.
Own Goal by Juraj Kucka, Watford. Watford 0, Norwich City 3.
Offside, Watford. João Pedro tries a through ball, but Moussa Sissoko is caught offside.
Substitution, Watford. Juraj Kucka replaces Kiko Femenía.
Samir (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Idah (Norwich City).
Substitution, Norwich City. Sam Byram replaces Teemu Pukki.
Attempt missed. João Pedro (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Substitution, Watford. Ken Sema replaces Hassane Kamara.
Samir (Watford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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