Goals:

0-1: Borini pen (41, picked out Ruddy’s bottom right corner with a perfectly placed kick)

0-2: Defoe (53, slid in at the back post to finish off a cross from Borini after good work by Kirchhoff)

0-3: Watmore (90, lifted a finish over Ruddy after Larsson had played him in behind the defence)

Bookings: Khazri (32, foul); Wisdom (40, foul); Cattermole (59, foul), Olsson (59, dissent)

Referee: Andre Marriner (Walsall) – could have given Norwich at least one penalty but did get the majority of decisions correct, even if the home side disagreed. 7

Attendance: 27, 117

Entertainment: 3/5

NORWICH CITY (4-4-1-1): Ruddy 4; Wisdom 4, Bassong 3, BENNETT 7, Olsson 6; Jarvis 5 (Hoolahan 59, 5), Howson 5, O’Neil 6, Brady 5 (Redmond 46, 7); Naismith 5 (Jerome 74); Mbokani 6. Subs (not used): Rudd (gk), Dorrans, Mulumbu, Pinto

SUNDERLAND (4-1-4-1):

8 Mannone: Made a number of important saves to lay the foundations for a comfortable win;

6 Yedlin: Made life difficult for Brady and Co even though he was shoved into an advertising board early on

8 Kone: Made a string of impressive tackles and blocks while also distributing the ball well

7 Kaboul: Almost turned a cross into his own net in the first half but that was his only shaky moment

6 van Aanholt: Given a difficult time in the first half but grew in confidence as the game wore on;

8 Kirchhoff: After giving the ball away a few times early on he was at the centre of most things and was crucial for the second goal;

8 Borini: Showed great composure to convert the penalty, teed up Defoe for the second and was a nuisance throughout

6 M’Vila: Improved on previous outings and played a number of decent passes without hitting top gear

9 CATTERMOLE: Set the tone from start to finish with his tenacity and heart, while also making a couple of goalline clearances

4 Khazri: On the periphery of things and his chances were not helped when he picked up an early booking;

7 Defoe: Didn’t get too many chances but did find the net and put the work rate in to help Sunderland shine

Subs:

Watmore (for Khazri 46): Gave Sunderland an extra edge down the left after his introduction – and scored. 7

Larsson (for M’Vila 66): Helped steady the ship in the closing stages and lay on the third. 6

O’Shea (for Kirchhoff 85)

(not used): Pickford (gk), Jones, Toivonen, N’Doye.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee Cattermole – might not have found the net or created a goal but his performance was about much more than that in the fight to beat the drop.