Norwich City vs Millwall. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow RoadAttendance26,218.
Match report and highlights as Norwich go third in the Championship with 3-1 win over Millwall; Jonathan Rowe, Josh Sargent and Ashley Barnes scored for hosts, who remain unbeaten; Aidomo Emakhu scored late consolation for Millwall, who were jeered by away supporters at full-time
Monday 21 August 2023 11:34, UK
Norwich produced an impressive performance at Carrow Road to cruise to a 3-1 victory over Millwall and remain unbeaten in the 2023/24 season.
zPerhaps inspired by rivals Ipswich sitting top of the Championship, Norwich were dominant from the very first whistle against a Millwall side whose fans greeted the full-time whistle with jeers following a third successive defeat.
The hosts had to wait until the 25th minute for their opener, which was provided by Jonathan Rowe, who finished off an excellent team move to notch his fourth goal in as many games.
Josh Sargent headed in a second shortly after half-time, before Ashley Barnes sealed the win with his 100th league goal on his 500th league appearance.
Aidomo Emakhu came off the bench to score a late consolation goal for Millwall - their first goal in three games - but it was not enough to halt the chants aimed at manager Gary Rowett by the unhappy travelling support.
David Wagner’s arrival at Norwich in January failed to spark a push for promotion last season, with the Canaries ultimately ending the season in the bottom half of the Championship.
But a lot appears to have changed over the summer, with Norwich now back to playing the free-flowing football they produce at their best.
Wagner’s side are also back into the play-off positions and, while it may be far too early to make any bold predictions, that is where Norwich surely see themselves come the end of the campaign.
They made light work of a Millwall side that showed very little ambition and nearly led after just six minutes when Sargent drilled a powerful shot just wide from the edge of the area.
Gabriel Sara, who enjoyed another dominant performance, then saw a free-kick pushed wide by Matija Sarkic, before Rowe finally breached Millwall’s defence after latching onto Barnes’ classy pass.
Chances were at a premium for the visitors, with Kevin Nisbet’s blocked shot the closest they came to troubling Angus Gunn.
The game was then taken out of Millwall’s reach after half-time, firstly when Sargent was granted the freedom of the penalty area to glance in a free-kick, and then when Barnes turned in a smart finish on the turn.
Chants of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ rung around Carrow Road as the clock ticked towards full-time, with supporters of both sides joining the chorus.
Emakhu’s late strike barely raised a cheer from the beleaguered away support - although boos could be heard when the full-time whistle finally sounded and put them out of their misery.
Gary Rowett expressed his disappointment at the "hurtful" comments aimed at him by Millwall supporters during the defeat to Norwich, saying: "If you are a fan, you spend a lot of time and money on following your club and you can say what you want.
"I understand they were frustrated with a poor performance but as a human being what they were saying about me is something I found disappointing and hurtful.
"No one likes to hear things like that said about them but I have to take it on the chin. I suppose I would prefer them to take it out on me than the players."
David Wagner was delighted with what he saw from his Norwich side against Millwall and credited their strong start to the season to the work they put in over the summer.
"You have to be ready for the fight if you play Millwall - it's not about ball possession," Wagner told Sky Sports. "We never gave them a breather.
"We controlled the game. It was a very good performance.
"Since day one of pre-season, something grew in this group. We have a good mix of interesting characters and they like to play together.
"We had a good pre-season and one reason is that we had our signings in very early.
"We have to be difficult to break down and like to play football on the front foot.
"We want to be one of the fittest teams in the division and today we have seen that fitness-wise, we don't struggle."
Norwich are next in action at Huddersfield in the Championship on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.
The Canaries then travel to Bristol City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday August 29 - kick-off 7.45pm.
Millwall's next match is at home to Stoke in the Championship on Saturday - kick-off 3pm.
The Lions then head to Birmingham on Saturday September 2 - kick-off 12.30pm.
