Mohamed Toure hit a superb hat-trick as Norwich continued their stunning climb up the Sky Bet Championship table with a 3-0 victory at Oxford, their fifth win in six matches.
The in-form Canaries made a dream start with a goal in just 51 seconds as Australia international Toure ran onto goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw's long clearance, outpacing defender Sam Long before firing unerringly past Jamie Cumming, who also missed his attempted clearance.
Guinea-born striker Toure finished emphatically for his second goal too, in the 19th minute, when he converted Ben Chrisene's low cross from the left high into the net from close range.
And 21-year-old Toure made it 3-0 less than two minutes into the second half with a low angled right-footed shot after Aidomo Emakhu gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch.
This was a resounding victory for Philippe Clement's men, and a personal triumph for exciting January signing Toure, who now has four goals in his first two games in English football.
U's head coach Matt Bloomfield brought in Mark Harris as his main striker because of Will Lankshear's suspension after a red card in Saturday's goalless draw at Coventry, while Emakhu was making his home debut.
Norwich were without top scorer Jovon Makama through injury but had a team finding the net regularly and brimming with confidence.
If the first-minute goal proved the perfect start for the visitors, it was the stuff of nightmares for Oxford, who had not found the net in their two previous home games under Bloomfield.
But they responded with a decent spell of possession and a powerful free-kick from near the touchline by Cameron Brannagan that a City defender just managed to divert for a corner at the near post.
Yet Norwich looked dangerous every time they went forwards.
Cumming kept out a fiercely-hit cross-shot from Oscar Schwartau after United's central defence was again torn apart by one pass.
Toure's second goal deflated the home fans, who started groaning at each misplaced pass.
As Norwich passed the ball around crisply, the U's were left chasing things - and Schwartau tried his luck again from outside the box, though the effort flew high and wide.
Toure's third goal so early in the second half killed the contest, and in cruise control the Canaries were able to take off their young hat-trick hero - to a standing ovation from the away supporters - with half an hour to go.
Substitute Stan Mills had a shot saved as Oxford looked to salvage some pride with a consolation, but Norwich comfortably saw out the rest of the game.
Oxford's Matt Bloomfield:
"It was really disappointing and we have to move on from it quickly, but we have to take the learnings from it. We learnt a huge amount.
"I got bits wrong tonight in our set-up and I take responsibility for that, and we'll learn from that and make sure it doesn't happen again.
"Our game plan was to try to disrupt and to try to impose ourselves on the game, so it's really hard when you go behind inside the first minute. And it was a fairly routine goal to give away.
"It was really disappointing and frustrating and took the sting out of us a little bit. It really affected us tonight.
"So apologies to our supporters, it wasn't good enough from us. We have to be better.
"All three goals were utterly avoidable from our point of view. On Saturday we were so resilient in our shape and tonight it was almost the other side of us.
"The cheap giveaways gave us a mountain to climb and then obviously belief and confidence drains and it falls apart a little bit.
"The early goal and then the early goal in the second half makes it really hard to come back from that point.
"We are trying our best to create good scoring opportunities and we put a really attacking team out tonight, and unfortunately it didn't play out that way.
"The early first goal really did affect us. But we have to keep fighting."
Norwich's Philippe Clement:
"It was what we wanted to see from Mohamed [Toure] - but also from everyone around him.
"We've seen the last two months that everyone who plays as a striker gets much better opportunities than three months ago.
"The strikers can be in good positions to finish off the job, and that's what he did really well.
"What pleased me most was to keep a clean sheet - and to score three goals against Oxford, because they were very good defensively these last two months, and showed it against Coventry last weekend.
"We scored three good goals, it was confirmation that all the group is working hard, all the group is understanding more what is expected of them in different positions.
"I asked the team today to start as a wrecking ball - and they did, but I know also, from experience, that I will ask it again in the next few weeks and that doesn't mean we're going to score in the first minute!
"But it's really important to have the mindset to do that and of course that changed the game.
"We can see all the players are understanding how I want them to play with the ball and without the ball and how they need to move with the ball. And because of that, we start to play better.
"But I told them after the game, I missed seeing a hunger for a fourth goal, or a fifth goal. We kept the ball well, on most occasions, but we were less dangerous. Those are more steps to take."
