After Norwich City’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Derby County, Connor Southwell looks at six things you might have missed from Pride Park.

After Norwich City’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Derby County, Connor Southwell looks at six things you might have missed from Pride Park. 

Borja Sainz’s hat-trick will take center stage in headlines following a day filled with turmoil and controversy.

The Spaniard made history by becoming the first Norwich City player to score three goals in a game since Teemu Pukki’s three goals in a 7-0 rout over Huddersfield Town in April 2021.

To find the last time a Norwich player scored a hat-trick away from home, one has turn back the clock to March 2018, when James Maddison accomplished the feat in a 4-3 loss at Hull.

Since Maddison’s hat-trick consisted of two penalties, the last time it was accomplished with just goals scored through open play was Efan Ekoku’s historic four-goal haul against Everton in September 1993.

In a 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in October 1974, Sainz became the first player in the second tier to complete an open-play hat-trick away from home since Mel Machin. The 23-year-old acknowledged after the game that it was the first of his career, therefore it was a day to remember.

It follows a few discussions about his output and two weeks following an extravagant performance away at Swansea.

Sainz is one of City’s agents of chaos. In addition to having the lowest pass completion percentage of any Norwich starter and the worst ball miscontrol of any of his teammates, he was brilliant in front of goal at Pride Park.

Johannes Hoff Throup will still want to work with him because of that, but Sainz has already matched.

2 – Showing the way, Jose

The fact that Jose Cordoba joined Norwich City’s defense at the same time as their attacking production increased is hardly a coincidence.

That claim alone demonstrates how important City’s defense players have grown to be in setting up their attacking scenarios from deep. Callum Doyle has received commensurate recognition for his increasing passing abilities.

When it comes to moving the ball up the pitch for City, Cordoba has been essential. Despite having a limited data sample, no player in the Championship has accomplished more through passes or carries per ninety than the Panamanian.

Due to Cordoba’s capacity for space defense and his participation in the City team, Norwich has been able to play more aggressively with their back line positioned high.

During this match, Cordoba (97 touches) got more touches than any other City player. In the middle third, only Kenny McLean had more possession of the ball than the defense. He now plays a crucial role in carrying out the game model developed by Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The advancement of Norwich and Cordoba can also be attributed to Shane Duffy’s development.

Following a tentative beginning to the campaign against Oxford and Blackburn, Duffy has matured into the campaign well and has become less noticeable in terms of his possession work.

That is the start of a blossoming partnership.

3 – Fortress breached

Norwich have become the first team to taste victory at Pride Park since Charlton Athletic recorded a 2-1 win over Paul Warne’s side in February.

The Rams have built something of a fortress at home. Their last seven matches at Pride Park have been won by an aggregate score of 12-0.  That spans the run-in of their League One automatic promotion-winning campaign.

So far this season, Warne’s side have beaten Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Cardiff in their opening three matches, for City to breach the fortress and depart with maximum points is a testament to their performance level.

Derby are the strongest side in the Championship on set-pieces and amassed the bulk of their expected goals via that source.

With swirling feelings of injustice engulfing Pride Park throughout halftime, an early reaction was to be expected. Unlike periods of passivity that left Thorup frustrated against Watford, Norwich rode the storm with more confidence.

With over 28,000 inside the stadium, including 2,800 City supporters, it was evidence that Norwich can find different ways to win rather than the dominance displayed against Watford.

Given that context, it is a statement win on the way to further improvement.

Josh Sargent is proving his value to Norwich City beyond goals. (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)4 – SAS

Norwich City have scored 11 goals in the Championship so far this season, only three have come without either Borja Sainz or Josh Sargent as the goal scorer or assist maker.

Only West Brom’s Josh Maja (seven) has netted on more occasions than Sainz in the Championship season, whilst only Tom Fellows (five) has more assists than Sargent. The American international has five goal contributions despite only netting twice.

In his post-match reflections whilst holding the match ball, Sainz was quick to thank Sargent for the part he played in his first-career hat-trick.

Given the exit of both Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe with the goals that followed the duo out of the door, the growth of Sainz in particular has been welcomed, even if Thorup feels there is another level for him to reach.

Sargent has already recorded more assists than he did for the entirety of last season. His work rate, physicality and athleticism is proving pivotal to City’s attacking phases of play.

The challenge for Thorup is to unlock goals from other areas to relieve some of the reliance already building on Sainz and Sargent.

It might not be of the standard that Shearer and Sutton famously produced for Blackburn Rovers in their Premier League title-winning campaign, but City’s SAS is proving to be just as important.

Thorup is beginning to see consistency emerge at Norwich City. (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)5 – Wheels turning?

Since his arrival at Norwich City, Johannes Hoff Thorup has spoken consistently about the importance of gradual improvement.

Amid challenges, public sagas and setbacks, Thorup has committed to implementing his game model while introducing different structures, such as inverting full-backs, build-up structures, and attacking rotations.

After last weekend, there was a want to prove they could put results together but dig deeper into the underlying performance data and it documents Norwich’s improvement over the last few weeks.

In five of their seven Championship matches, City have boasted a higher expected goals for rate than against, showing that they consistently create better chances than the opposition.

They have outpossessed their opponents in the last six games across all competitions. They are among the best in the entire Championship at ball-spelling spells.

During those early testing weeks of the campaign, Thorup said that City’s performance and development will be noticeable by October, and it has delivered on that promise. They currently have nine out of a potential twelve points, and the results are starting to come in.

Supporters of the Canaries have demonstrated throughout the process that they are prepared to accept the Dane’s ideas, even if they are still in their infancy at this early stage of the season and his reign.

But slowly, improvement is being noticed. The mission now is to keep the wheel turning in the right direction.

Daniel Farke again returns to Carrow Road with Leeds on Tuesday night. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)6 – Friends reunited

On Tuesday, Daniel Farke will lead Leeds United back to Carrow Road for the third time, and for the first time since their victory over Norwich City in the play-off semifinal in May.

Leeds is the clear favorite to win the Championship, and the German is under pressure to deliver promotion at Elland Road this season following their heartbreaking loss at Wembley.

Farke’s excellent tenure at Carrow Road saw him do that twice. That’s the reason he’s still well-liked in Norfolk, even after he helped plan their demise in May.

That 4-0 defeat at Elland Road came just 137 days ago. Norwich will be desperate to prove the gap between the teams has closed significantly since that night which ultimately ended David Wagner’s reign as Canaries’ boss.

Similar to Farke in 2017, Johannes Hoff Thorup has turned the page and is trying to tell a new tale at Carrow Road. One that relies on young talent and possession-based football to succeed.

There are similarities between the two that some City supporters have pointed out, but Thorup wants to show that his current offering can compete with the best in the championship.

Another result and performance would support the notion that something extraordinary might be growing under the Dane, but Farke’s team will be motivated to show their own strength.

Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/