Natural goal scorers are born, not manufactured, and while I have no doubt that Ante Crnac possesses that talent, he is, as Johannes Hoff Thorup has repeatedly stated, still in the developmental stage, just as Sargent was when he first arrived at Carrow Road. While Sargent was unquestionably the highlight of the afternoon, Crnac’s involvement was important, emphasising how far he has gone since joining City. Having been timid and easy to knock off the ball early this season, he is now constantly bullying defenders and demonstrating increased game knowledge.

This is evident in two major ways. The first is his off-ball mobility, which has improved considerably. The diagonal run that diverted two defenders’ attention away from Lewis Dobbin’s path to goal was fantastic, and the timing of his runs for both his own and Emi Marcondes’ goals was spot on, whereas earlier in the season he would have been over-eager and caught offside. What really jumped out to me was that after winning the ball and playing Sargent in for his second goal, Crnac, rather than admiring the pass, positioned himself in the middle of the six-yard box in the event of a rebound. That is the reaction of a natural goalscorer, and I think there are many more goals to come from the Croatian.

The second area is his heading. Earlier in the season he was hardly competing for headers, just backing into defenders, but on Saturday he won a number of flick-ons, which suggests that the coaching staff have been working hard with him on that area.

He wasn’t the only young player to have a significant impact versus Swansea. Lucien Mahovo made a fantastic full debut, showing poise in possession, superb positional knowledge, and a willingness to move the ball forward. Given that we were all concerned about the left side of defence following the departures during the summer, it is now exceptionally well supplied. Dobbin also demonstrated that he is adjusting to the system, and his pace and dribbling abilities will cause issues for many defenders, with his well-taken goal fittingly rewarding an impressive effort. While Dobbin may be a transitory addition, Oscar Schwartau will become an increasingly prominent role, and last Saturday offered a tantalising look at him in the central role for which he is clearly destined. He certainly didn’t disappoint, offering an extra dimension with his willingness, shared by Dobbin, to run at defenders with the ball rather than simply play a short pass, and that posed questions that hadn’t been asked of opposing defenders in the last two games and led directly to two of City’s goals.

In truth, while it wasn’t a brilliant performance, City’s approach was pleasingly multi-dimensional, with the customary short passing style supplemented by Schwartau and Dobbin’s directness, as well as some excellent long balls, particularly from Callum Doyle. City had a successful day at work, and if they can keep Sargent fit to work alongside Crnac, Dobbin, Borja Sainz, and Matej Jurasek, they will have plenty of firepower in the final third of the season. Even after such an up-and-down season, City are still only five points below the top six, highlighting the Championship’s unpredictable nature.

City’s recent record at Vicarage Road isn’t great, but a win today with two home games to follow could set them up for a tilt for a play-off spot.

Are we all ready to ride the rollercoaster again?

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