After an epic goal fest on Saturday, Connor Southwell delivers six things you might have missed from the 4-4 draw at St Mary's.
1 - That's Entertainment
Forget the players on the pitch, even those in the stands needed to pause for breath when the scoreboard read 2-2 after just 27 minutes of this encounter.
There was no letting up thereafter - this was a game full of chaos, incident and excitement. The applause that serenaded both sets of players off the pitch was an appreciation of the theatre alongside the application displayed.
Eight goals, 11 yellow cards and countless moments of controversy - this was a game that will last long in the memory of those who were in attendance inside St Mary's.
Given the way last season fizzled out and the disappointing nature of the performances, the fun was sapped from football for a lot of those of a yellow and green persuasion.
That is what has fuelled the optimism as much as the positive performances. Norwich are entertaining to watch and playing with a clear philosophy. Whether that means this season will be an improved one remains to be seen, but the optimism is growing cautiously.
Fears over chance creation have subsided, and it feels like foundations are being built to enable progression. It may be early days but the tentative signs are positive.
2 - Super Sarge
Josh Sargent is acutely aware of the pressure on his shoulders to lead the line at Norwich City this season following Teemu Pukki's departure.
It may have been Gabriel Sara who stole the show with a headline-grabbing performance, but Sargent was effective and impressive spearheading City's attack alongside Ashley Barnes.
Only Sara had as many shot-creating actions as the American striker, who put in a tireless display for the Canaries. Sargent also recorded three progressive passes and three passes into the final third - the most of anyone in yellow and green.
He also opened his account for the campaign - but it was his work for his teammates and the constant outlet he provided to help Norwich kickstart their transitional phases where they hurt Southampton.
Sargent scored with his only shot on target. His work was mostly about stretching the game to create space as Norwich countered with purpose in the first half.
His movement to peel off the back of Jan Bednarek to create space for Jack Stacey to find was clever. His assist for Sara's strike a display of his ability to drop deeper to help link the game.
This was an all-round striking performance from the 23-year-old and marked a real step forward in his development.
3 - Bravery
Russell Martin described Norwich as 'one of the strongest' teams in transition in the Championship. Norwich were devastating on the counter attack in the first half.
A key to their efforts was the bravery to leave two men, Josh Sargent and Ashley Barnes, up the pitch. It risked Southampton creating overloads in advanced areas but also allowed Norwich to spring forward when they reclaimed possession.
Sargent and Barnes were effective outlets to get Norwich up the pitch and allowed others to move up the pitch - David Wagner and Narcis Pelach felt it was the best tactical method to getting players in advanced areas.
Another element of their gameplan was to press Southampton in wider areas and funnel their play centrally after how much joy they had against Sheffield Wednesday.
That allowed Carlos Alcaraz space in central areas but Norwich felt that would be the best way to nullify Nathan Tella and Samuel Edozie - for large periods it was successful. The latter had the least touches of any home player.
As the game wore on, Norwich dropped into a low block and Southampton did adapt to their transitional moments better - but the gameplan was a success.
4 - Blocker Ben
Defending set-pieces has been an Achilles heel for Russell Martin's teams since he stepped into coaching with MK Dons back in 2019.
Norwich sensed an opportunity, given the extra physicality of their side this season. Ashley Barnes, Shane Duffy et al were all licking their lips.
The ease with which Rowe met Sara's corner would have been frustrating for Martin - but replays show it was a clever piece of play from Norwich's central defender Ben Gibson to help create the space for the winger to strike.
Gibson positioned himself in Southampton's six-yard box and occupied both Kyle Walker-Peters and Jan Bednarek as City's block of players attacked different areas.
He managed to block the Saints pair from advancing into the box and contesting Rowe, leaving the City winger with a free header to divert into the net.
Despite his lack of presence, Rowe executed the header superbly, meeting the ball nicely to direct it past Gavin Bazunu from Sara's pinpoint delivery.
Gibson's action made it a possibility. One block is hard enough, let alone managing two despite being outnumbered.
Andy Hughes has been tasked with leading the set-piece practices of City's side and this was an excellent execution of a move that will have rehearsed tirelessly on the training pitches at Colney.
5 - One in 888
Norwich City's last 4-4 draw came in that famous draw with Middlesbrough at Carrow Road back in 2005 - Adam Drury was the hero on that particular occasion.
There have been multiple high-scoring games since - that breathless 3-2 victory over Derby in 2011, a 3-3 draw with Forest in 2018 and the 5-4 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League back in 2016.
In that memorable 2018/19 season under Farke, they had three 4-3 matches. The history books show that games with Southampton have historically been high-scoring.
There was a 7-3 defeat in 1957, a 5-3 win just 12 months before, a 4-4 draw in 1989, a 5-4 Premier League defeat in 1994 and a 4-3 defeat in 2005. This pairing has often meant goals.
Norwich haven't won at St Mary's since 2008, Ched Evans was the scorer and Glen Roeder was in charge of the Canaries.
888 league matches have been played since that draw with Boro then and the 46 shots recorded in this encounter is the most in a game since that afternoon at Carrow Road 17 years ago.
It was a game for the ages.
6 - Up for the cup
Attentions now turn to the League Cup with a delayed trip to Loftus Road to face QPR on Wednesday.
This game is being played a week later than scheduled after the hosts requested pushing it back in order to ready their stadium after a summer of renovations.
The victor of the tie will earn a round two trip to Bristol City which would be sandwiched between away trips to Huddersfield and Rotherham for City.
For Wagner, it will represent an opportunity to shuffle his pack and provide minutes to those on the fringes of the squad. Adam Idah and Marcelino Nunez will likely be the front two pairing, Christian Fassnacht could earn a first competitive start and Kellen Fisher will likely replace Jack Stacey at right-back.
If they want to advance themselves in Wagner's mind then producing a performance will be of paramount importance. City's boss was keen to stress post-match that they will be seeking to progress in the competition.
Victory would help keep spirits high - but the priority will be beating Millwall at Carrow Road next Sunday.
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