Sheffield Wednesday’s nightmare season deepened as Zan Vipotnik scored twice to inspire Swansea City to a crushing 4-0 win over the Championship’s bottom side.
The Owls’ latest blank means they have now gone nine consecutive league matches without scoring for the first time in their history, while an eighth straight defeat leaves them drifting ever closer to relegation.
Swansea, meanwhile, continued their impressive rise under Vitor Matos and were firmly in control from the outset.
Goncalo Franco set the tone by finishing off a flowing team move, meeting Josh Tymon’s low cross to open the scoring.
Any faint hope of a Wednesday response quickly evaporated.
The visitors struggled to create chances and were punished when Vipotnik rifled a superb free-kick into the top corner from just outside the area.
The league’s leading scorer soon struck again, taking Ronald’s cross in his stride before calmly rolling home his 15th goal of the campaign.
There was still time for further misery for the Owls, as substitute Malick Yalcouye weaved into the box and slotted in his first goal since arriving on loan from Brighton to complete the rout.
The emphatic victory – Swansea’s biggest of the season – lifts Matos’ side to 15th place, 10 points clear of the relegation zone and just five adrift of the play-off places.
Wednesday, by contrast, remain marooned at the foot of the table, 39 points from safety with only 15 games left.
Wednesday have now endured 14 hours of league football without a goal, their last coming through Bailey Cadamarteri in a draw with Hull City back on 26 December.
That alarming lack of firepower showed again after Franco’s opener, with the visitors offering little resistance.
Liam Cullen went close to extending Swansea’s lead before half-time when his lob clipped the crossbar, but even that reprieve failed to spark a response from Henrik Pedersen’s side.
Vipotnik’s thunderous free-kick effectively settled the contest, and Swansea’s late flourish condemned Wednesday to the second-heaviest defeat of their bleak campaign.
Not long ago, Swansea were glancing nervously over their shoulders, but Matos’ impact has been transformative.
Eight wins from their past 13 league matches have eased relegation fears and injected fresh belief into the Swans’ season.
Swansea head coach Vitor Matos:
"It was a game where we showed the right mindset. We knew it was a game where we needed to set the right tone in terms of intensity, in terms of dominance.
"I think we showed that. We scored the goal which helped us to calm down and have better control of the game.
"Second goal from a free-kick and I think it was a good game – clean sheet, goals, I am really happy."
Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen:
"The last two days we have had two really good training sessions. We changed to a back four to get one man higher up in the press to see if we can win balls higher up the pitch and also have an extra man in the offensive transition.
"We saw a positive energy in the first 19 minutes. We had good pressing situations, good sequences on the ball. Then they score the goal, they played through us, and we also have to say Swansea is a fantastic team.
"After the goal they got more confident on the ball and started to move us around. We wanted to be compact but it was difficult for us. It was tough to press really tight against them.
"Second half we came out with a good energy and started to win balls high up the pitch, but we also lost balls. The biggest challenge today was that when we won the ball we also lost the ball. We didn't create what we wanted."
