Norwich City found themselves relegated on the final day of the Premier League season, losing 2-0 to Arsenal. That capped off a run of seven games in which the Canaries managed just a point, in a goalless draw with Chelsea. In fact, Norwich scored in just one game in that stretch, a 3-2 loss to Liverpool.
In total, the team notched just 28 goals from 38 Premier League games last season, the lowest total in the league. So it wasn’t all that surprising to see them relegated.
It was, however, surprising to see them post a 13-0 scoreline against Italian side SC Vallee d’Aoste. Sure, Vallée d’Aoste play in Serie D, Italy’s highest level of non-professional soccer. But still...it was Norwich.
Well, Norwich really did score that many goals. But not against Vallée d’Aoste. The Canaries had been scheduled to play recently relegated side Novara, now in Italy’s third division. Novara canceled, and Norwich scrambled to find replacements. After beating the assembled side 13-0, Norwich took to the Twitter and their website to announce the win over Vallée d’Aoste.
One problem: the Italian side said they’d never played Norwich. Turned out a “regional select side” from Italy’s Aosta region had been formed to take on the Canaries.
So in reality, Norwich beat a hastily put-together side of likely amateurs 13-0. But hey, at least they can score on someone, right? Perhaps this bodes well for their time in The Championship next season.