Rosenborg crushes Start with clinical away display

IK Start got their afternoon off to a nightmare start when midfielder A. Karadas was shown a yellow card in the opening minute. The early caution set a fractious tone for what would become a thoroughly one-sided contest. Rosenborg, by contrast, arrived with clear purpose and began to impose themselves on proceedings as the first half progressed.

The visitors broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 35th minute when A. Chiakha converted from twelve yards, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Start offered little resistance and struggled to build any meaningful attacking threat against Rosenborg's organised defence. The hosts needed a response before the break but failed to trouble the visitors, leaving them trailing at half-time.

Rosenborg tightened their grip in the second half as Start began to wilt under the pressure. S. Mvoué picked up a caution for Start in the 73rd minute as frustrations mounted, while Rosenborg's S. Nordli and J. Reitan-Sunde also saw yellow in the closing stages. Chiakha put the result beyond doubt when he scored again in the 90th minute, before Nordli added a third deep into stoppage time to seal a comprehensive victory for the visitors.

The win sees Rosenborg leave Kristiansand with three points in their pocket and sends a statement of intent to their title rivals. Start, meanwhile, face searching questions after a performance that lacked intensity and creativity. The gap between these two sides proved significant on the day, and Rosenborg made them pay for every deficiency.