Manager David Wagner expressed his pride as Norwich claimed a 4-0 Championship victory on his return to Huddersfield.

The Canaries continued their impressive start to the season as they stretched their unbeaten run to five games.

Josh Sargent pounced on a Lee Nicholls error to hand the visitors an early lead and score in a third-successive game.

The hosts’ calamitous start worsened when Matty Pearson conceded a penalty and Ashley Barnes converted from the spot.

Straight after the interval, the in-form Jonathan Lowe continued his feat of scoring in every game as he notched a fifth goal this term. And Adam Idah rounded off a delightful Norwich display with a late fourth as they rose to second place.

“We scored some very good goals and it was a deserved win,” former Huddersfield boss Wagner said.

“Nobody knows better than me how difficult this place can be and this was a big win from us.

“Coming to Huddersfield away from home, if you don’t take the lead or if you give chances away, the supporters can make a big difference.

“The players have done fantastic, used their opportunities and defended their goal with everything they had.

“(Goalkeeper Angus) Gunn was fantastic and it’s our first clean sheet and offensively we were able to break from that.

“Unfortunately, Sargent has a serious ankle injury but this goal shows the character and desire of him and the whole group.

“Overall, it was a very good performance and all our strikers have done great and scored and our substitutes made an impact as well.

“We can create good opportunities and score and this is good to know, but our whole performance was right today.

“The fact we scored four is pleasing but to keep our first clean sheet in the Championship this season, makes the win even greater.

“I’ll never rule anything out with the transfer window still open but I am very happy with the squad we have.”

It was another miserable afternoon for Huddersfield, who are still yet to record a victory this season.

Josh Ruffels went closest to handing the hosts a reprieve, but his goal-bound header was saved miraculously by Gunn.

“I can’t fault the effort at all,” said boss Neil Warnock. “There’s nobody on the pitch today who’s not given everything.

“The goals we’re conceding are silly and we can’t keep giving goals away like that – Norwich is a good side without giving them a goal.

“We started off really strong, on the front foot and I didn’t think they were going to cope with us and then we gave a goal away.

“And then the penalty’s very iffy and you’re two-nil down and you can’t believe it.

“The lads are giving everything and you can’t ask any more, but they’re very elementary goals and you can’t concede like that at this level.

“We’re getting in decent positions, but we’ve not been able to finish.

“At the end of the day, I can’t fault the effort and they’re giving me everything. And there’s a lot of the points of the game today that I did enjoy.

“But if you make mistakes like that at any level of football, you’re going to get punished and we can’t be doing that.

“I think we can beat anybody on our day but when we’re playing well, we shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Norwich boss David Wagner urged Norwich matchwinner Jonathan Rowe not to get carried away after his Carabao Cup first-round winner at QPR.

Rowe’s header in the final seconds at Loftus Road secured a 1-0 victory and an away tie against Bristol City in the second round.

The 20-year-old has scored in all three of the Canaries’ games this season and his manager has challenged him to keep improving.

Wagner said: “It’s great that he scores goals and great for him as an individual.

“If you work hard you will get your rewards and this is what Johnny has done.

“He’s a talent but he has a lot of work to do – keep the feet on the ground and make sure you work hard and continue what you are doing.

“We will support him but we will challenge him as well.”

The game produced very few clear-cut openings before a late Norwich flurry, with Ashley Barnes missing a great chance for the Canaries before Rowe netted.

“I think it was a deserved win and that we were the better team – the team which really chased for the win,” Wagner added.

“It was not a top performance but as the game went on I thought we created opportunities without being clinical in the final third.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was encouraged by the performance of his young players.

Both managers made several changes and Ainsworth brought on academy products Alexander Aoraha and Rayan Kolli in the second half for their senior debuts.

Ainsworth said: “I got what I needed tonight and that was seeing the commitment and the standard of the players that haven’t been playing.

“We had players on the pitch from the academy during the game and two debutants at the end who are playing against players who have been sold for millions.

“So I’m really proud of the boys, but it is gutting to lose the goal at the end. The boys didn’t deserve that. Gutted but very proud.

“It’s cruel but it’s a lesson for some of our young boys, and the future looks quite rosy here.”

Schalke are seven-time Bundesliga champions and one of the biggest names in world football.

A sporting institution and breeding ground for future greats, the Royal Blues were runners-up as recently as 2018. Schalke, led by Raul, were also Champions League semi-finalists in 2011. So, after 30 straight seasons in the top flight, it seemed unfathomable that one of the Bundesliga's founding members could drop down to Germany's second tier.

But they will be playing in 2. Bundesliga in 2021-22, their demise made official with four matches remaining after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld.

It has truly been a dismal season for the club who have unearthed Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sane, Mesut Ozil, Benedikt Howedes and Julian Draxler thanks to their famed academy.

Schalke only have two wins to their name from 30 matches for a paltry 13 points.

The turbulent nature of their campaign has been headlined by five coaches in a season – a Bundesliga record.

After David Wagner was given his marching orders in September, Manuel Baum lasted until December before Schalke turned to one of their favourite sons Huub Stevens – a UEFA Cup and DFB-Pokal winner – on an interim basis. Christian Gross was hired but he and other senior staff officials were sacked by February as part of a shake-up amid internal turmoil and player unrest. The relatively unknown Dimitrios Grammozis was appointed in March, however the club were already doomed.

Kevin Kuranyi – one of Schalke's finest – spent five years in Gelsenkirchen, where the former Germany international was their leading goalscorer from 2005-08 as the team finished runners-up twice and secured three consecutive Champions League berths, including a quarter-final showdown against Barcelona in 2008.

"For me was special to play for such a big club," Kuranyi, who left Schalke in 2010 after 209 appearances and 87 goals following his 2005 arrival from Stuttgart, told Stats Perform News.

"We had a really good time with the club. We were playing in the Champions League, the fans and everything was really something special in my career. And for me was an honour to play there with a lot of top players who are now playing in the biggest clubs in the world.

"Of course [in recent years] they have a lot of changes. I think in the last three, four years, you know, they change a lot of the sport directors, coaches and I think they don't really have a structure and a long-term plan.

"All these changes make everything a little bit difficult."

The likes of Leon Goretzka, Alexander Nubel, Breel Embolo, Thilo Kehrer, Max Meyer, Ozan Kabak and Weston McKennie have left Veltins-Arena in recent years and the replacements have not provided value for money.

Schalke invested in Sebastian Rudy, Suat Serdar, Omar Mascarell, Rabbi Matondo, Salif Sane, Mark Uth and Hamza Mendyl and Benito Raman over the past three terms, while big-name veterans Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar arrived during this season, but failed to make an impact.

"They invest a lot of money," Kuranyi said. "The players who they bring in for €10-15million, they don't return with good performances and points so it's difficult to work with this, they make a lot of mistakes the last few years."

Unheralded American forward Matthew Hoppe has been a rare shining light, the club's leading scorer in the Bundesliga with five goals – Schalke have only found the back of the net a league-low 18 times.

Schalke's minutes-to-goal ratio is 150, by far the worst of any team in the Bundesliga. As for their shot conversion rate, it stands at just 6.69 per cent – easily the lowest in the competition. For comparison, leaders and defending champions Bayern Munich top the list with 16.93 per cent. Only Bielefeld (39.9 to 40.32 per cent) have a poorer shooting accuracy this term.

The boys in blue have also lacked creativity. In 2020-21, Schalke have only created 190 chances – the lowest return across the league, while their passing accuracy (76.7) is the sixth worst.

Schalke have had the same woes at the other end of the pitch, conceding a league-high 76 goals and keeping four clean sheets – only Cologne have managed less (three). They have also recorded five errors leading to goals, a total only exceeded by Werder Bremen (six).

Now, Schalke are preparing for life in the second division for the first time since 1990-91.

It is a situation that has outraged fans and it came to a head after Tuesday's loss away to Bielefeld. Supporters were waiting for the team in Gelsenkirchen, where some players were seen fleeing a group of angry Ultras in footage circulating on social media – Schalke later condemned the incident.

"I think [the fans are hurting] a lot you know a big club like Schalke is not a club for the second league," the 39-year-old Kuranyi said.

"Schalke have big tradition, they have a lot of good memories in the old times. So it's really difficult for the fans to get the situation, to play in the second league, to try to go up again.

"I think in the next two, three years will be a hard time for Schalke. And, of course, all the fans are in a bad moment now."

Schalke were among 16 founding members of the inaugural Bundesliga in 1963, including Hamburg.

Hamburg – another proud and historic German outfit – were sensationally relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in 2018 and are yet to return. Schalke are now following in their footsteps.

"It's all about the plan, what they have," Kuranyi said when asked of Schalke can bounce back immediately. "It's not easy if you see Hamburg, if you see another clubs who are trying to go up in the last two, three years. You see how difficult it is to play in the second league.

"Schalke, of course, will be the top club in the second league. Every small club will do everything to beat them. So they need to have a big plan for the future. They need to check what the possibilities also to keep the top players. What's the possibility to take young talented players to play a good second league season."