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| Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were brilliant against Norwich |
Manchester
United went into the weekend still hurting from the midweek defeat at the hands
of archrivals Manchester City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-final.
On Saturday, when Norwich City came to visit Old Trafford, the Red Devils had
an opportunity to bounce back from their setback and resume their charge for a
top-four finish in the Premier League. United had failed to win any of their
last 3 games in all competitions and were actually looking to pick up their
first win of the new year on Saturday.
In the
league, United had managed to win just 2 of their last 5 games, which also
included 2 defeats. Injuries had limited Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s options at
hand, as he was still without Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay for the game. A
busy run of games in January also meant that Solskjaer had to use his options
wisely. The availability of Harry Maguire was a big boost for the Norwegian,
who made 4 changes to the team that lost to City in midweek.
Manchester United
Starting XI: David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka,
Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Brandon Williams; Fred, Nemanja Matic, Andreas
Pereira; Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata
The home
side were in control of the game right from the start and deservedly took the
lead through Rashford in the 27th minute. United went into the break
with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Rashford doubled the lead from the spot in
the 52nd minute. Martial made in 3-0 two minutes later, before
Greenwood came off the bench to score United’s 4th of the game in
the 76th minute.
In the end,
it was just the response Solskjaer wanted and he will also be ecstatic about
the performance of these 5 men, who were brilliant for his team.
#5 Mason Greenwood
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| Mason Greenwood got off the bench to score |
Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer was a fantastic super-sub during his playing career, but it now looks
like he might have another super-sub in the making in his team. Greenwood has
been used very carefully by the Norwegian this season, who has ensured that the
18-year-old was not overworked on the pitch. However, the teenager has given
his manager quite a headache by displaying goalscoring prowess well beyond his
age. Against Norwich too, he gave the world a timely reminder of why Solskjaer
thinks so highly of him.
Greenwood
started the game on the bench and came on in the 71st minute in
place of Pereira. It took him just 5 minutes to make a mark. The teenager
picked up a loose ball near the box and had the time and space to aim a
measured left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner. It was his 9th
goal of the season for United and it summed up a fantastic win for his team.
#4 Brandon Williams
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| Brandon Williams won a penalty |
One of the
high points of this season has been Solskjaer’s trust in youth. And Williams
has been one of the players who had justified the manager’s belief so far. The
Englishman has a great mixture of aggression and adventure in his gameplay, and
he never shies away from a battle on the field. Williams has been so good this
season that he has rattled Luke Shaw’s position in the team and has even
managed to dislodge him from the first team. Against Norwich too, the teenager
was on top form for his team.
Williams
was adventurous as usual on the day and with the home team controlling
position, ran into the final third on numerous occasions to join the attack.
However, he did not forget his defensive responsibilities either, throwing in
tackles and protecting the backline admirably. He had a glorious chance to
score too but sadly, failed to hit the target from a couple of yards out.
Williams had 104 touched on the ball, only Fred had more touches for both teams
on the day. The Englishman also completed 3 of his 4 attempted dribbles and his
desire to venture forward helped carve out a goal for his team.
Early in
the second half, the Englishman bombed into the box following Rashford’s ball
and was brought down by Tim Krul. United won a penalty, which was converted by
Rashford and the Red Devils never looked back from there.
#3 Anthony Martial
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| Martial scored United's third of the night |
The
Frenchman has been guilty of blowing hot and cold this season and at times, his
position in the team has been questioned. However, it is quite easy to forget
that Martial is still only 24 years old and does have time to improve. Besides,
on his good days, the Frenchman is just too good to handle and Norwich were
about to learn that the hard way.
Martial
started as the focal point of the United attack and combined well with the
players around him. He switched places with Rashford on quite a few occasions
and was also stellar with his hold-up play. The Frenchman has fantastic awareness
of the players around him and helps them flourish on the pitch. Martial
regularly pulled the defense out of position, allowing others to make diagonal
runs into the box. He was also crucial in United’s build-up play and in the 54th
minute, took the game away from the visitors.
Mata sent
in another beautiful ball into the box, this time from a short corner. Martial
positioned himself well between two defenders and headed the ball into the net.
The Frenchman continued to cause the away defense all kinds of trouble right
until the 80th minute when he was replaced by Angel Gomes.
#2 Juan Mata
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| Mata set up 2 goals |
The
Spaniard has found game time hard to come by this season, but there was no
denying that in the absence of Pogba, Mata is United’s most creative player in
the squad. With the busy run of games ahead, Solskjaer opted for the Spaniard
in the team, well aware that Mata’s ability to pick a pass would come in handy
against the Canaries. It turned out to be a masterstroke.
Mata
started on the right but popped up everywhere in the final third during the
game. Norwich City struggled to deal with his movements around the box; Mata
took up cute positions and dictated the play in the final third with ease. He
dragged defenders away from their positions and stretched the defense with his
clever runs. And he also turned out to be United’s creator in chief.
First, he
picked up a brilliant position on the right flank and sent in a beautiful cross
that was converted by Rashford in the first half. It was just a sign of things
to come. Mata continued to run riot in the space between the Norwich midfield
and defense and even teed up Martial brilliantly on one occasion, but the
Frenchman failed to score. However, Mata was on fine form on the day and he
ensured that Martial did get his name on the scoresheet.
From a
quickly taken corner, the Spaniard whipped in another glorious ball, which was
headed in by Martial to put United 3-0 up.
#1 Marcus Rashford
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| Rashford scored a brace |
The
Englishman wore the armband for Manchester United for the first time in midweek
but ended on the losing side in the Manchester Derby. It was an emotional
moment for Rashford, who did score in the game but could not rescue his team.
This season, the youngster has turned into United’s talisman in the absence of
Pogba and had already scored 17 times ahead of the game. The Red Devils were
looking at the Englishman to inspire them once again on Saturday and he did not
disappoint.
Making his
200th appearance for his boyhood club, Rashford had spring in his
step right from the start. The drag-backs were on display again and he effortlessly
drifted across the frontline, keeping the away defense on their toes. Rashford
also picked up nice spaces in the final third and in the 27th
minute, he displayed his goalscoring instincts.
After some
good work down the right, Mata cut back inside and lifted his head to spot
Rashford making a clever run in the box. The Spaniard put in an inch-perfect ball
into the far post, and the Englishman ran past Max Aarons to strike it home to
give United the lead. Rashford continued to be a threat after the break as well
and 5 minutes in the second half, he sent Williams free into the final third
with a fine ball. The left-back was brought down by Krul and United were
awarded a spot-kick.
The
Englishman stepped up to take the penalty himself and score his second of the
game to give United some breathing space.
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