Rams fans singing in the rain as Robins left in a flutter

EUSTACE'S MEN DELIVER THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE OF SEASON SO FAR

- By LEIGH CURTIS

DERBY County thrashed Bristol City 5-0 at Ashton Gate on Friday night to leapfrog their opponents and move into the Championship playoff places.

First-half goals from Rhian Brewster, Ben Brereton Diaz and Bobby Clark were added to by Patrick Agyemang and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen as the rampant Rams recorded a third win in four games.

Closure of the M5 throughout the afternoon caused traffic to become gridlocked in and around Bristol, causing some City players to arrive less than half an hour before kickoff.

But it seemed the whole team had failed to turn up as Derby capitalised on wretched defending to build a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.

There was no way back for the Robins as the Rams added two more after the break.

Here are the main talking points from the game:

A devastating display

This was supposed to be a serious acid test for the Rams against a side that was, prior to kickoff, on the fringes of the playoff positions.

But by halftime, John Eustace's side were home and hosed on a night when they served up their best performance and result of the season that left Bristol City fans walking out long before the final whistle.

In what was a combination of physicality, intelligence and ruthlessness, they scored five but it's no exaggeration when we say it could have been a scoreline of a greater margin.