Queens Park Rangers were comfortably pushed aside 4-0 by a ruthless Norwich City at Carrow Road.
After a superb first-half that put the home side three goals to the good, Norwich refused to let Emiliano Buendia’s dismissal interrupt an efficient and dominant performance.
The opening 45 minutes epitomised the stark contrast in quality between the two sides.
First Maximillian Aarons snuck beyond the full-back to pick out an unmarked Buendia who calmly swept home (6), before Marco Stiepermann drove into space and fired past Joe Lumley (12).
And things went from bad to worse as Luke Freeman gifted possession shortly before the break, resulting in Teemu Pukki passing the ball past Lumley to put the game out of sight before the interval.
Desperate and searching for a route back in, the Hoops came close when Darnell Furlong’s header was expertly parried away by Tim Krul shortly before the hour mark.
Buendia was rightfully dismissed after an unnecessary challenge with 20 minutes to go, but Pukki raced in behind to cap off a perfect day for the hosts and make it four in the 85th minute.
The result leaves QPR 17th in the table with just one win in 16 league games, with Norwich extending their lead at the top.