NORWICH WERE relegated from the Premier League on Saturday after a 2-0 loss at Aston Villa.
Burnley’s dramatic late comeback from 1-0 down to beat Watford 2-1 left the Canaries 13 points adrift of safety with just four games remaining.
It was an unhappy return to Villa Park for Norwich boss Dean Smith as goals either side of half-time from two players he signed for Villa, Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, earned Steven Gerrard’s men the three points.
Smith has been unable to turn around a sinking ship since replacing Daniel Farke in November.
The Canaries have gone down in each of their last three campaigns in the English top-flight having also been relegated in 2015/16 and 2018/19.
Watford’s 11th consecutive home loss also leaves the Hornets on the verge of relegation.
Everton’s 68-year stay in the top-flight is now in severe peril as the Toffees are five points off safety, but do have games in hand over Burnley and Leeds to come.
Elsewhere in the 3pm kick-offs, Brighton hammered Wolves 3-0 and Crystal Palace beat Southampton 2-1.
Fair play to them
@DL_8_5: overall deserved winners without a doubt.. But Having said that i really hope they don’t win it.. the arrogance and over confidence before the world Cup even started annoyed me, at times they really do make themselves the most unlikeable country ever when it comes to sport. Also we’d literally never hear the end of it if they won
@Acedeuce: it’s only overconfidence by some stupid papers..players have been pretty chilled
@Acedeuce: I had not heard anyone say they were going to win it before the tournament started in fairness.
@Paul Fahey: it’s the England fans I’m on about, the “it’s coming home” shouts after beating the worst team in the competition that annoyed me
@DL_8_5: Agreed. England were the better team for most of the game. Also, they were over due a change of luck in a penalty shootout. Can’t really say they were jammy, penalties are a lottery after all.
@Acedeuce: I understand what you are saying as a country, but these group of players and Southgate aswell seem fairly grounded. Don’t think they will win it but I’m glad they knocked out those Columbian thugs!
@Acedeuce: thats not the team.. it’s the cartoon English press rags…especially the toon sun rag…lets not forget Hillsborough and I’m not actually a Liverpool fan but a fan of football and being able to a game in peace without racism and bias…
@DL_8_5: ah yfg beat everybody else to the punch.
@Dan: well said….as Keano said…one game at a time and we’ll see how good you are…
@Acedeuce: like the ‘you’ll never beat the irish’ ones. Same thing in fairness. Fans are always going to be overly optimistic!!
They are the least arrogant and most likeable English team in a long time!
@Acedeuce: Surely the Irish are worse? You’ll never beat the Irish even when we are getting the shlte bet out of us!
@Acedeuce:
They have Sweden now, a andy enough game at this stage of the tournament, could reach the semis then please God someone will batter them and send them back to Blighty.
@Charlie Hunter: Sweden have always been England’s bogey team!
@joe: ahh.. But the “you’ll never beat the Irish” is in fact true.. Doesn’t matter if we’re getting slaughtered, the fact of the matter is you’ll never beat the Irish :)
@Acedeuce: Try living in Germany or Italy !!
@Dan: absolutely Dan…the English boys are the EXACT opposite of being arrogant….
@DL_8_5: Thugs is tight..they were a disgrace
@DL_8_5: I don’t think they have the players to win it but fair play to them for coming through this evening, Columbia’s antics were shocking at times. England had to win a penalty shootout at some stage & in fairness Southgate seems to be a a fairly sound grounded guy who had his own penalty heartache & deserves a break.
@Acedeuce: it’s from a song, which the English do not take literally, but you seem to.
@Acedeuce: honestly, what are you talking about?
@Acedeuce: don’t forget that Ole Ole Ole cringe nonsense out of us. They’re entitled to sing footballs coming home. I don’t see the problem. Seem like a decent bunch too. No John Terry ‘s etc. Happy for them
@Acedeuce: yawn
@Paul Fahey: Paradoxically it’s we don’t want England to win their games, but we want them to progress to keep our interest in it.
I think Belgium have a good chance of winning.
What a save by Pickford… England were due a win in penalties in fairness… you have to fancy them now against Sweden. Southgate proving to be a fairly good manager in fairness.
@An Observer2: Agree on Southgate. You could see that England had put a lot of work into their penalty taking and they are a well organised team.
@EK: Yeah, you can see he isn’t taking the piss with tactics. Imagine they win the World Cup with him as manager? It would wipe out his penalty miss that hopefully isn’t still hanging over him…
@An Observer2: Him missing that penalty has probably made him put more focus on them as a manager. Hopefully it mends Southgate’s reputation in the long run.
@An Observer2:
Watch that save again pal.
It was nothing special.
Straight at him!
@An Observer2: they will beat Sweden and you are right Pickford had a brilliant game and save..
@An Observer2: in fairness you’re right…in fairness :-) You’re not related to Ronan Keating by any chance…in fairness :-)
@joeyhem: it was already past him. Reached back to save it! Great save!!
@Sloop John G: I only spotted the 2nd in fairness when I posted the comment…in fairnessh…
@joeyhem: Really? The ball was going in. He went the other way. He extended his hand and saved it. It was a tremendous save,look what it led to…
@joeyhem: You are right pal, unbelievable save
@An Observer2: the one before the equilizer was the save of the tournament?
@An Observer2: true enough in fairness
@An Observer2:
Once again keeper off his line.
Fair play to them.
But how come our keeper got a red card for doing the same thing in the run up to the World Cup.
Refs must have been told to ignore this in the World Cup.
@joe:
He was half way out on the pitch.
That’s why he had to reach back.
If he was on his line the ball would have been in the back of the net.
Colombia lost my support after that display of petulance and cheating. Glad England won in the end and very happy for young Pickford. What a save that was from Uribe!
@Daniel Donovan: that’s was an amazing save.
@Daniel Donovan: my wife was gutted..i was delighted..great save
Don’t really see the point in begrudging this England team. They were better than Colombia on the night and deserved to go through.
@EK: W
@EK: Who’s begrudging? All fairly positive comments on here towards England…
@EK: were they??
Despite their possession, they did f all with it.
Colombia only started to play in the last ten minutes and England looked very ordinary.
Croatia to thump em.
@An Observer2: Thankfully it’s mostly positive on this article but I think the live commentary comments sections have been a bit juvenile during England games.
@EK: they are our local rivals you dope. Should galway people be cheering on Mayo in games ?
@EK:
The commentary was was all about how great England played.
I mean they critisied previous matches, over the keepers coming off their lines.
But it took a long time after the match for them the even mention the fact Pickford was off his line.
Fair play to England. Strong finish to the Shoot out. Bit of me wanted them to win after the way the colombians acted through out the game. It was embarrassing. England won a shoot out what a world cup
@Yorkie1892: Agree Yorkie. Colombia were a disgrace and made it difficult for the referee.
@Daniel Donovan: the var charade game is very annoying too also
@Daniel Donovan: well done also to the ref. I feared for his safety at one stage the Colombians were a disgrace they got the equaliser in the add time that their behaviour created hardly fair
Congrats to England. The best team won. It’s fantastic to have some representation from the British Isles in the Quarters!
@Sean Dilligan: ah here, I’d take France over england as a neighbour
@Sean Dilligan: speak for yourself.
@Sean Dilligan: It really isn’t though, is it? Totally nonplussed at the notion of another country ‘representing’ us.
@Sean Dilligan: “british isles” f*ck me
@Conor Mahon: after what they did to us in Paris …leave it out mate…hope Uruguay HAMMER them..
@Sean Dilligan: Fuvk off!
@Sean Dilligan: British and Irish Isles compadre
@Karlos McGrath: Christ it was fairly obvious now that I was joking. Calm down
@Sean Dilligan: It was not obvious in the slightest. You should have your Irish citizenship revoked. Immediately.
@Ray Farrell: Speaks for me too, so suck it up…it’s coming home…
@Norvik_1602: well of course he does. Speaks for all blow-ins.
@Norvik_1602: Well then go and Live on one of your precious Brit Isles..
I’d mixed feelings before the game and just wanted the better team on the night to win.
My six year old son who’s been glued to the World Cup and as a Dad answering 200 questions every 10 mins of every game was hoping England would win.
He simply said “they are beside us Dad” .
As a six year old he knows nothing about the conflict and disturbing history our nations shared, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him.
So we sat there and enjoyed the football .
I hope his generation will not be instilled in the animosity certain people of our generation still hold strong.
Another memorable night with my son .
As a Villa fan I’m personally delighted for Southgate too
Met him many times before and after games and a lovely genuine person.
@Denis White: your six year old shows more sense than most Irish…we are supposed to be trying to get on from the ‘bad years’ ..seems the only ones that can’t let it go are the Irish…most English I know are quite embarrassed by the antics of the British Empire…
@Denis White: Name me a country that doesn’t have a disturbing history (whatever that means) with another. England has been at war or allied to nearly every state in Europe. Only in Ireland do people get upset about things that happened centuries ago. People need to fcuking grow up. It’s a sport, nothing more.
@Desmond Cassidy: Antics? Lazy broadside much? The British Empire has fat more positives than negatives. Also since Ireland was an integral part of the UK when then Empire existed why are you not apologising as well?
nice – an Irish Unionist and an little Englander arguing.
I hate the English media with a passion the team aren’t bad but ugh the media
@Joe: BBC bias = RTE bias. it happens in every country.
@Sean Conway: yep Sean…same here in Germany….
Living in London, people are going absolutely nuts, roaring “footballs coming home”. If it does, I’ll go home.
@Ben Coughlan: hope to see you when you come back home
@Ben Coughlan: That’s the problem with the English – Indignant in defeat and unbearable in victory………if it wasn’t for this I’d wish them well.
@Dan: Dan the man, well said Dan!
@Martin Horan: what about us we are having thirty,th anniversary celebrations of the Houghton goal in 1988 off the ball even had special panels discussing it
@Ben Coughlan: or you could join in the craic over there and celebrate a team that actually has a chance of winning. Not like Ireland will be giving us a reason to celebrate anytime soon.
@Maria Hickey-Fagan: you must be joking i cannot see how any self respecting irish person can lend their support to England!
@Maria Hickey-Fagan: Ffs..
Happy for England our closest neighbours. Let’s leave brexit to one side for tonight!
@Brian Waldron: and leave the 800 years aside too is it?
Brilliant, delighted for them. What a safe from Pickford
Harry Kane whose grand father came from Connemara comes across as a really sound grounded player. I believe himself and Southgate have brought England to a new level and as a duo have brought a humility to a team which in the past was missing. If only the press and some of their fans followed suit then England would have more fans in this part of the world.
@Tom Reilly: Well said Sir…
Hate to say it completely deserved. Great saves by Pickford. Colombia should have had a few sent off. Delighted they got done in the end for all their antics
Amazing penalty save by Pickford.
Well done England deserved winners. I hope the can go all the way….!
Deserved the win in the 90 minutes but the bias in the RTE commentary was astonishing.
@the druid: don’t have it with virgin otherwise I’d be doing the back and forth remote thing. Plus George Hamiltons “hindsight” penalty commentary very annoying, “never in doubt” after the ball hits the net.
@Jg Igoe: Those foreigners playacting with their diving and total silence with the likes of Young diving. Pathetic
@Jg Igoe: Richard Dunne, working class Dub, on RTÉ last night – “I hope WE win.” Embarrassing stuff.
How was Falcao not sent off for his antics; referee must have a sore ear from all the complaining he was doing. Well done England!!
Unpopular opinion on here but I fancy them to win it
Surely one should support a European team in World Cup vs non European? Not to do so is bitter anti English in the extreme. Best team won in the end and Columbian behaviour during match embarrassing and should have resulted in at least one if not two red cards. Sport above nationality and fair play above all I say.
@unlaoised: you did notice both McGuire and lingard diving in the box looking for penalties? The antics were on both sides last night.
@Jg Igoe:
Some people only see one side.
They never see the antics of both teams.
Mon the Swedes!
All up england deserved the win. Pity Colombia only started playin after an hour of trying to ruffle England’s feathers.
Delighted for the Colombians, they were filth and deserved that!
England deserved it , but they have had some easy route to the the semis. Easy qualifying group, easy world cup group, a bad combian team, and next sweden.
Delighted for them . They are our closest neighbours and no doubt some irish blood there
Pickford shaking the bar just before penalty hit and a mile off his line before the penalty hit. Feel sorry for ospina after making a truly great save.
@Mel Roberts: incorrect. His left foot was behind the line when the ball was kicked.
@Mel Roberts: did you actually watch the penalty shoot out….BEHIND THE LINE…
@Brendan Murphy: your toot he was
@Mel Roberts:
You must’ve been watching a different penalty shootout.
Either that or your begrudgery got the better of you.
@Brendan Murphy:
Where were you watching the match.
He was nearly up on the player.
Right through the last 16 the refs have turned a blind eye to the keepers coming off their lines.
3 Irish lads on the team Kane, Maguire and Henderson great to see them win.
Three Lions on the Shirt, Jules Rimet still gleaming, Thirty Years of Hurt, Never Stopped me Dreaming…
It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….
Well done England. Pickford was great in goal Colombia were playing like a bunch of gougers.
Knew Henderson would miss, very overrated player
@Stevie Doran: he stuck it in the corner ffs, great save by keeper
@Damien Byrne: he totally telegraphed where he was aiming for and the pen was the perfect height for the goalie .
Henderson feigned confidence doing solos leading up to the kick you just knew he would miss. I’m a Liverpool fan but thought he had an awful game
Watch football for the enjoyment, to cheer on Ireland, cork city, spurs (and yes aware of the hypocrisy coming) and to hopefully watch England lose. But the ridiculous behavior, cheating (more than usual in football) and anti-football of Panama and now Columbia have had me cheering for our neighbours twice now…feckers! That said…..come on Sweden!
Fair play England. The better team won and got the job done.
Our Leeds cult hero Pontus Janson might make life difficult on Saturday however.
Great tournament so far.
Wrong on so many levels almost unatural to see England won a penality shootout
2 hours of my life I’ll never get back.
@John A. Dixon: there’s always RTE +1
@John A. Dixon:
Don’t worry John, there’s always next Saturday afternoon to do it all again.
@John A. Dixon: go and watch Rugby then…bitter….
i can’t see Sweden troubling England tbh
@Just Some Guy: well Swedish record v England is good
Vindaloo nah nah nah
Just more heartache when Croatia chin them in the semis
Jesus do.not buy “Red Tops” in.the morning,
Need to get Ibra back in the Sweden team to put England to the sword again
Nothing to brag about. England’s performance was horrid, and the skill level – or lack thereof – in this team is absolutely cringy.
Was going to read this article, but came across the phrase, “early doors”and thought WTF…..
@Acedeuce: The exact opposite is true. English people are generally pessimistic about the football team’s chances, through bitter experience. Some Irish people are just haters, if the roles were reversed almost all English would very happily cheer for us.
England fans have got used to disappointment over the decades. We had to suffer a “golden generation” full of unlovable, horrible individuals like Terry and Rooney and Cole.
I live in Ireland now but I don’t know of any England fans who are arrogant about the team. Many are completely fed up of them and never watch the matches anymore.
Granted you’ll always have some of the tabloid rags making cringeworthy statements etc but the vast majority of fans are far from arrogant.
I don’t rate the team that much. We’ve no midfield and Stirling is a passenger up front. But we controlled much if the game last night and deserved to win and I was so pleased because Colombia’s antics and attitude was absolutely appalling.
Another grindingly dull game to come against Sweden now I’m afraid.
Come on Harry!
Better tournament with Colombia out. Such a shower of cheats. Well done England.
They were the better team but then it’s no great boast to say they were the better team. Colombia were absolutely brutal and their carry on was startling, they’re headers!!!! England really are no great shakes they didn’t create an awful lot and if Colombia had kept up their extra time 1st half form they could easily have won. Poor game
https://youtu.be/Ie7d08Og_60
Nothing against England best of luck to them but they are simply not good enough
What a turkey of a game.
Its….
Would be madness if them and Russia made the semis. Unlikely but there’d be murder.
You’ll never beat the Irish.
Of course you won’t, they didn’t qualify.
Usual chip on a shoulder Irish begrudgery, what really annoys these gits is that no one in England gives a flying *£%¥ what they think.
Glad to see England win but my money is still on France to win overall.
@Norvik_1602: except you of course. You seem to care a lot. Very annoyed. In fact you’re whole post seems to be projection.
Right lads. Were all
Because that side of the draw is so pathetic. England have a legitimate change of being in the final.
England wouldn’t have scored from open play if they were still playing at 12 am. Colombia beat themselves by giving that stupid penalty away! Henderson is shocking! Some difference when you look at modric or rakitic for Croatia
that has to be the easiest route to the final not a big team in sight the other side of the qualifiers are so much tougher and they all finished top of their groups