Chelsea 7-0 Norwich City: 5 talking points as Mason Mount hat-trick puts Blues in seventh heaven | Premier League 2021-22

Chelsea made light work of 10-man Norwich City to secure a resounding 7-0 victory in the Premier League.

Mason Mount scored a hat-trick, while Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Ben Chilwell all bagged apiece, with Max Aarons scoring an own goal too.

Even without their strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, who were ruled out with injuries, the Blues put in an inspiring display. They took the hapless Canaries to the cleaners with their frightening attacking intent.

To make things worse for the promoted side, Ben Gibson was also sent off just after the hour mark. He got his second yellow of the match after a challenge on James.

The defeat, their heaviest in eight years, kept Norwich rock-bottom in the Premier League with only two points from nine games. Meanwhile, Chelsea provisionally extended their lead at the top to four points.

Here are the major talking points from the match:

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#5 No strikers, no issues for Chelsea

Chelsea had no trouble playing without a natural striker

Much of Chelsea's pre-match discussions involved the absence of their injured strike pair, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.

The Belgian twisted his ankle during their Champions League 4-0 win against Malmo in midweek. Werner also picked up a knock later on in the same match, ruling them both out of today's game.

So without a recognized striker to lead the line, Chelsea should have struggled for goals, right? Wrong! Instead, the European champions made a mockery of their absences by smashing seven past the hapless Canaries.

It's their biggest victory since the 8-0 demolition of Aston Villa in December 2012.

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#4 Jorginho and Kovacic drive Chelsea with lethal creativity

Jorginho had a hand in all three of Chelsea's first-half goals

Chelsea's central midfield duo of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic were the driving force behind today's resounding victory. They played brilliantly, especially in the first-half, when the two combined to create all three of their goals.

The duo, in tandem, ran the show in the middle. They dominated possession, passed the ball around quickly and precisely, and linked-up with wide men amazingly too.

While Jorginho set up the first and third goals, Kovacic teed up Hudson-Odoi for Chelsea's second. His Italian counterpart was involved in the build-up to that too.

Their creativity, vision and flair drove the Blues forward in the opening stanza, giving them a healthy 3-0 advantage to build on for the second period.

#3 Mount penalty incident highlighted Norwich's poor luck

Norwich have no luck in the top-flight whatsoever

Even when they get it right, it all goes wrong for Norwich City, who're seriously down on luck this season. And nothing exemplified that better than the penalty incident towards the end.

Mason Mount had the chance to bag a sixth goal for Chelsea from the spot, but saw his tame effort saved by Tim Krul. Replays showed the beleaguered traveling fans jumping into celebration in what was a rare sight of joy for them.

However, the Dutch custodian came forward a bit too early, and hence the referee asked for the penalty to be retaken. This dampened the mood once again in the away stand.

Mount scored the second, which came off Krul's shin in another poor attempt. But the incident was an enduring image of the Canaries' poor luck this season.

Without a single victory to show on their return to the English top-flight, Daniel Farke's side are stuck in a rut. They are making a strong case for being one of the worst sides in the Premier League's recent history.

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#2 Mason Mount bags his first treble for Chelsea

Mount became the 20th Chelsea player to score a league hat-trick

Thomas Tuchel's Mr. Reliable bagged three on the evening for his first-ever Premier League hat-trick. While it was far from perfect, Mason Mount wouldn't care, as his three-goal salvo put the icing on Chelsea's cake.

He got them underway with a sensational strike from distance in the eighth minute and doubled his advantage from the spot late on. He'd initially missed but put it away at the second attempt after Tim Krul came off his line too early.

Given how dominant the Blues were in the match, another goal looked just around the corner. It's not surprising that it came from Mount once again, firing home into an empty net from a nice cut-back from Loftus-Cheek.

After going 25 games without a goal, he's now scored three!

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#1 Chelsea are genuine title contenders

Chelsea are looking for their first Premier League title since 2017

Not to jump the gun here, as it's only Norwich City, arguably the weakest Premier League side of the last two campaigns they've played in. But Chelsea sent an ominous message to their title rivals today.

Even without a recognized striker, the Blues made light work of the Canaries. They ended up securing their biggest victory in nearly a decade on a goal-crazy afternoon for them. Chelsea have now had 17 of their players on the scoresheet this season across competitions.

The confidence in the side is visible and having found their swagger back under the German boss, their future also looks bright. Could this season finally bring the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge?

It's all looking good so far.