Sunderland embarrassed again: Norwich City runs riot at Stadium of Light

The game didn't even hit the hour mark, and already the Sunderland supporters had seen enough.

Norwich City left Sunderland in shambles on Saturday as the Canaries earned their first win of the season. Goals from Russell Martin, Steven Whittaker and Nathan Redmond were enough to effectively end the game by the 57th minute.

The match was never in doubt for Norwich, who ran circles around Sunderland and played essentially a game of keep-away for large parts of the afternoon. The Black Cats were so lackadaisical in defence that they practically invited their opponents to dribble into the box and do as they wished.

And it all started when Norwich forward Cameron Jerome won back the ball in midfield earlier in the first half.

After the No. 10 set into a motion a nice string of passes, Norwich ended up with a corner in the 25th minute that would change the momentum of the contest. From said corner, Robbie Brady launched a long-range strike that stung the gloves of Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon and offered up a rebound for Russell to tap in.

Eleven minutes later, the Sunderland defence capitulated again - to a defender from the other side. Whittaker made a run from the right, playing a one-two with midfielder Wes Hoolahan before picking up the ball and rifling a low shot past Pantilimon.

At that point, the Sunderland supporters began to leave their seats for an early half-time break. They would soon get up to exit the ground for good.

What looked like a relatively tame throw-in from the right flank turned into the third goal of the match midway through the second half.

Sunderland defenders Patrick van Aanholt and Sebastian Coates could not keep up with a quick exchange of passes between Redmond and Hoolahan, who set up the 21-year-old English winger for his second goal of the campaign.

With just a couple of minutes left in regular time, substitute and Premier League debutant Duncan Watmore pulled one back for Dick Advocaat's side. It was a small consolation for a team that managed just two shots on net all match.

Sunderland has now conceded seven goals against Leicester City and Norwich in its first two matches of the season. The long campaign to stave off relegation has apparently begun in earnest in August.