Ian Baraclough may find consolation in the troubled start to Michael O’Neill’s ultimately successful reign as Northern Ireland manager but comparisons must cease there. With a place at Euro 2020 at stake in next month’s play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, O’Neill’s successor can ill afford a repeat of this jaded display and chastening defeat against Norway. Erling Braut Haaland destroyed them with a display that underlined why his international manager, Lars Lagerback, has drawn parallels with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the eve of the game. The Borussia Dortmund striker, embodying force and finesse, scored two sublime goals and helped create two more for Alexander Sørloth. A disjointed and inexperienced home defence could handle neither of them. “We knew we’d be stretched by the loss of Jonny [Evans] and Jamal [Lewis] and would find it tough against this strike force,” the Northern Ireland manager said. “They were ruthless. Haaland is a £100m player, isn’t he?” Baraclough’s first home game and Steven Davis’s 119th appearance for his country - a feat that equalled Pat Jennings’s record - had created an upbeat atmosphere around the fixture but four goals in the opening 19 minutes was the statistic that shaped the night. It soured the night from a Northern Ireland perspective, given Norway scored three of them. Lagerback got the response he demanded following his team’s surprise home defeat by Austria last week. Celtic’s Mohamed Elyounoussi started the flurry with a polished finish from the influential Stefan Johansen’s cross-field pass. Hearts’ right-back Michael Smith allowed his man too much space and was punished before he had time to recover, Elyounoussi controlling neatly on his chest and beating Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the home goal with a first-time finish. Northern Ireland fought back immediately. Young Arsenal defender Daniel Ballard released Conor Washington behind the Norway defence. His shot was parried by goalkeeper Rune Jarstein and the ball broke perfectly for Paddy McNair to tap into an empty net. Parity, along with the threat from Baraclough’s team, was only fleeting. Within a minute Haaland demonstrated the prodigious talent that set him apart on the Windsor Park pitch. Norway were clearly targeting Ballard and Smith with long, diagonal balls and Sørloth dominated the aerial challenges. His header took a slight deflection off Ballard but the Dortmund striker adjusted his body with ease to sweep an unstoppable drive beyond the Burnley keeper on the half-volley. Haaland was also involved in the third as Norway established a comfortable first half lead. The forward released Haitam Aleesami down the left and the full-back delivered an inviting first-time cross to the back post. Sørloth, unmarked, steered the ball home with ease. Evans’s absence was keenly felt by a side that cannot afford to lose Premier League experience and he was not the only first team player unavailable to the Northern Ireland manager. Lewis, in talks with Newcastle over a move from Norwich, was also missing while Josh Magennis was suspended after his dismissal against Romania. Baraclough switched to 3-5-2 for the second half with Ballard struggling with a hamstring problem and his team in serious need of improvement in the final third. Northern Ireland had offered little after McNair’s goal but the manager’s intended recovery was shattered moments after the restart as Norway struck for the fourth time. Haaland was at the heart of it, almost inevitably again, bursting through the home defence after exchanging passes with Johansen and selflessly squaring to Sørloth with only Peacock-Farrell to beat. The Crystal Palace outcast made no mistake and worse was to follow for Northern Ireland when Haaland scored his second of the night. Defensively the hosts were badly out of shape when Omar Elabdellaoui’s deft header sent the striker through on goal but there was no faulting the finish. Haaland curled another cool left-footed shot around Peacock-Farrell to condemn Northern Ireland to their heaviest home defeat for 18 years.