Four goals and four different goalscorers helped Chelsea maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic turned the game on its head after Grant Holt’s opener, as Chelsea recorded a 4-1 winning scoreline for the 100th time in their history.
It was a day of landmarks in a match where a slow Chelsea start finished off with 80 gloriously beautiful minutes.
John Obi Mikel made his 250th Chelsea appearance, sitting deep in midfield alongside the returning Frank Lampard. John Terry and Ashley Cole, after their troubles this week, also started, with the fab four of Oscar, Mata, Hazard and Torres continuing to pose significant threat up front.
And it was the latter who should have opened the scoring. The in-form striker linked up with a Mikel ball, but like last weekend, the Spaniard thought too much and Bassong got back to block.
Chelsea were made to pay for that moment of hesitation six minutes later, when Grant Holt showed Torres how to put the ball into the back of the net, meeting the ball beautifully to slice home a half-volley past Petr Cech.
But Torres soon made amends for his indecisiveness, levelling the tie for the Blues just three minutes after going behind. An Ivanovic cross was met powerfully by the 29-year-old, who nodded home his third in four games.
That speed in the reply boosted Chelsea’s momentum going forward, and one became two on the 20th minute. Fernando Torres once again played a pass, with a miscued over-head kick ricocheting off the Norwich defence, into the path of Frank Lampard, who volleyed home a trademark goal.
It was his 189th goal for Chelsea, now needing just five to overtake Kerry Dixon into the second all-time Chelsea top scorer.
A 2-1 lead usually invites the leaders to sit back a bit and have possession, but Chelsea opted to go for a third, and they were duly rewarded.
Juan Mata, who has been in astonishing form since he was granted a mini-break earlier this season, ran 40 yards with the ball, before playing a disguised ball to Eden hazard, who side-footed beautifully past John Ruddy: a fantastic, fast-paced goal.
Chris Hughton would have no doubt been screaming at his players at half-time — indeed, Norwich have not won thus far this season — but words were not converted on the field, as Barnett clearly tripped Eden Hazard.
The referee Anthony Taylor, who opted to let the game flow, decided to wave play on.
Norwich opted for a damage-limitation strategy, but it was not enough to keep out Branislav Ivanovic.
An Oscar cross to the right-wing was controlled with an improvised Mata flick, and the tough Serbian hammered home Chelsea’s fourth.
It was Ivanovic’s fourth goal, and Mata’s sixth assist in his last five games, meaning he now is joint-top in terms of assists, alongside his team-mate Hazard.
At 4-1, it was time for some fun, the outcome had been decided. More penalty shouts were turned down, but with the Blues making a staggering 731 passes this afternoon, the “boring, boring Chelsea” tag must surely be disappearing.
It speaks volumes when it was only Petr Cech, who has the best saves-to-shots ratio of any goalkeeper in the Premier League this season at 86% , and David Luiz who failed to record an attempt on goal.
Chelsea have only dropped two points in seven matches, to record the best start to the season since Jose Mourinho’s year in 2005/2006, and we all know where the Premier League crown ended that year.