Canaries substitute Josip Drmic grabbed a late reply but Smith's side recorded their first away win of the season in emphatic fashion.

Villa had struggled on the road this season in the Premier League, suffering defeats at Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Tottenham, with Smith admitting his side had been frustrated in the last few matches.

He said: "I think frustration has been the key word, our performances have been there and that result today is probably what we've deserved over the last few weeks.

"It's one game at a time like we've always said and it's pleasing that we've put in that performance and got that result today."

On what could come out of the match, he added: "To come here today and do that will give the lads an awful lot of confidence going into other away games."

The international break cannot come too soon for Daniel Farke's Norwich, with nine senior players out injured, including two goalkeepers and three centre-backs and the boss doesn't want his team to be too down after the heavy defeat.

Farke said: "We were not too high after the Man City win, it's important not to be too down because I'm really sure that we won't have at any point this season such a similar situation with so many players injured.

"I hope it will improve also for the Bournemouth game. I think and hope that at least a few players will come back and I think then we will have a good chance to strike back."

The German manager is also hopeful Ben Godfrey, who has been playing with painkillers and unable to train because of the defensive shortages, will return for the next match after a successful hernia operation.