Mason Mount's hat-trick helps classy Chelsea put seven past sorry Norwich

• Mason Mount, without a goal since Champions League semi-final in May, leads the way with a hat-trick
• Six out of seven goals come from Chelsea's English players in front of watching Gareth Southgate
• Winless Norwich reduced to 10 men after Ben Gibson sent off for two yellow cards

They say there are no easy games in the Premier League. This was. Table-topping European champions Chelsea were magnificent. Bottom of the table Norwich City were abysmal. Nature took its course and while Mason Mount scored a hat trick, three wasn’t even half of his team’s goals, six of which were scored by English players as Gareth Southgate looked on, the seventh being an own goal.

“I don’t want to get carried away,” said Thomas Tuchel, the Chelsea head coach, who barely missed the absences of injured Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. “I like the way  we approach like this. Our approach is humble, but when we play like this anything is possible. I’m happy with our intensity and our effort. We were all-in. Nothing was held back.”

In predictable contrast, Daniel Farke, the Norwich head coach, was unhappy.

“You can imagine how the spirit is in our dressing room. We will not speak of this game again after Tuesday. The players know how I feel and we need to look to our next home game with Leeds. Chelsea away is the toughest task in world football. We needed to be at our best and them not be. They were excellent and we were not.

“In possession we gave so much away, unnecessarily. We didn’t defend their quick movement. We didn’t pressure Jorginho and Kovacic and our decision making was poor. We are more than unhappy and we need to be self-critical about this embarrassing heavy defeat."

Norwich’s players warmed up in shirts paying tribute to their goalkeeper Dan Barden who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in midweek.  In fact, they arrived in West London seemingly with something to build on: undefeated for two games during which they had not conceded a goal.

After just eight minutes, any talk of table-climbing looked to be the height of carelessness. Callum Hudson-Odoi scampered down the left and crossed. Ben Gibson’s weak clearing header fell to Jorginho, who gathered excellently and caressed the ball to Mount, who, with Southgate looking on, rattled home his first goal since Real Madrid were sent packing in last season’s Champions League semi-final.

Already Norwich were doomed and they were soon two adrift. Antonio Rudiger carried the ball out of defence and found Mateo Kovacic, whose fabulous through ball took out the entire Norwich defence but not Hudson-Odoi, who strolled boldly forwards before expertly placing his first goal since January beyond Tim Krul.

The die was cast. Chelsea were so strong, so effervescent and so innovative that better sides than Norwich would have collapsed but the visitors made things worse for themselves at every turn. As Chelsea buzzed around them and ran through them, Norwich settled on an uncomfortable combination of damage limitation by defending deeply but unconvincingly; the occasional Dimitris Giannoulis overlap and pointless roughhouse, as when Grant Hanley scythed through Mount.

For all of Tuchel’s touchline gymnastics, Chelsea were thoroughly enjoying themselves and this would be a performance  of almost child-like glee. Jorginho was a string-pulling joy, Kovacic an imperious fulcrum and those with something to prove and places to fight for – Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz – toyed with Norwich at their considerable pleasure.

And it was three for Chelsea before-half time and three for Chelsea academy products.  They moved the  ball from right to left until Mount spotted the onrushing Reece James rather quicker than the back-pedalling Giannoulis and the defender deftly clipped his first Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge over Krul.

Farke made a couple of quixotic Canute-style changes at the break, with Milot Rashica deployed as an auxiliary forward. Indeed, the Kosovan was gifted Norwich’s first and last peek at goal after 53 minutes when he latched onto a wayward Ben Chilwell backpass. Rashica looked set to score until the hitherto  and subsequently unemployed Edouard Mendy appeared from nowhere to block with his feet.

Chilwell enjoyed almost instant redemption. James, Jorginho and then Kovacic moved the ball from right to left, almost unimpeded, before the latter found Chilwell, who was given the time and space to fire his third goal in four league games across Krul.

Calamity piled upon calamity for Norwich. First Kovacic ambled forwards unchallenged before spotting the overlapping Hudson-Odoi, whose harmless cross-shot  deflected off Max Aarons and squirmed through the unhappy, wrong-footed Krul. Moments later, the already booked Gibson clumsily clattered into James and Norwich were a man as well as five goals down.

Krul kept the scoreline down with fine saves from Ross Barkley and Hakim Zayich, but when Mathias Normann blocked Rudiger’s drive with his arm he did better still to save Mount’s penalty. Alas, Krul had stayed off his line and the Var which had initially awarded the penalty demanded a retake. Mount sent it straight down the middle as Krul dived to his right.

Even now Norwich’s humiliation was not complete and, already, next Sunday’’s visit of Leeds look to be season-defining. Ruben Loftus-Cheek charged down the right and squared, Mount had his hat trick.

“Mason’s a top guy and a top player,” purred Tuchel. “He feels a lot lighter after today. This was a big moment for him.”