Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City - Five talking points

Javier Hernández

Javier Hernández provides Moyes with a dilemma up front

On Saturday against Stoke City, Hernández showed just what he is capable of as he came on, and scored the winner. Against Norwich City, he started the game and scored two well taken goals to make it 12 goals from 16 starts for the Mexican international, who has shown time and again that his finishing prowess is beyond question and that given half a chance, he could very well bury it.

Hernández’s ability in front of goal will mean that he will always be in his manager’s mind, but he would be hoping for a more glamorous tie to showcase his talents in than a Capital One Cup fixture against a relegation contender. With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that United have finally found a replacement for their super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Chicharito, just like the Norwegian goes about his business, without too much fuss and always lets his feet do the talking. And as long as he keeps putting away his chances, Moyes will certainly be pleased to have him in the team, perhaps, even alongside Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney.

Phil Jones scores Manchester United’s third goal

United’s young guns show plenty of promise

Moyes started the game with Wilfried Zaha on the right side, Januzaj, wearing the No.44 jersey, but playing in the No.10 role and Phil Jones in the center of midfield alongside Cleverley. All three players impressed, but it was Januzaj once again who was the stand-out performer, and is looking like more at home in the first team. It was he who got the penalty, which Chicharito converted to open the scoring and although the penalty was soft, it wasn’t unjust. Throughout the game, there some lovely flashes of brilliance from the mercurial teenage sensation who illuminated Old Trafford, and with his long-term contract signed, is set to do so, for a very long time indeed.

Wilfried Zaha, on the other hand, started brightly but slowly faded away, on his first official appearance for Manchester United. Phil Jones, on the other hand, looked like he enjoyed playing in midfield alongside Cleverley and was a bundle of energy throughout the game. His goal, which was United’s third, looked eerily similar to that of a young Bryan Robson, shooting from the edge of the penalty area and giving the keeper no chance.

Robert Snodgrass stretchered off after a collision

Did Hughton make a mistake by playing his best players?

Norwich City came into the game against Manchester United knowing fully well that they had a relegation fight on their hands this season. So, many expected Hughton to rest some of his first team players and give the rest a run-out, but, although he made eight changes, two of his most creative players started the game and neither of them finished as they were both injured before the game came to an end.

First, it was Robert Snodgrass, who was taken off on a stretcher, having clashed heads with Rafael da Silva in one of Norwich’s rare attacks. The play was stopped for a long time as Snodgrass was breathing through an oxygen mask until he was taken away in an ambulance. After the game, Chris Hughton said “He was knocked out for a period of time, he will have an X-ray to check nothing is broken but we think it’s concussion.”

Then, in the 76th minute, Nathan Redmond came off with a damaged hip. With a crucial relegation battle on the cards, Hughton could have very well done without an injury to two of his best players and might well be thinking that he made a mistake by playing them both in a game that they were never in.

David Moyes

Capital One Cup might yet be Moyes’s only shot at Silverware this season

Manchester United lie eight points behind Arsenal after just nine games, in eighth place in the league, having already lost one-third of their games so far. Whilst it is not inconceivable that they make up the points difference before too long, whether they have what it takes to stay there is a completely different question altogether.

City and Chelsea both looked better equipped in terms of their squads to handle the rigors of both Europe and the League. And in only his first season, it would be a very good return of Moyes, if he could end the season in the top four and with a trophy in his bag.

And that trophy might well be the League Cup, with Stoke City, who they just beat over the weekend in the quarterfinals, it looks like United have a very good chance of winning the tournament. With Chelsea and City more likely to concentrate on the League and in Europe, the Capital One Cup represents Moyes’s best shot at silverware this season, especially as they are so close to winning the whole tournament.

Manchester United players celebrate

United are finally coming into a run of form, but can they keep that up?

David Moyes enjoyed his first stress-free game in charge of Manchester United ever since Javier Hernández scored a penalty on the 20th-minute. From then on, it was a walk in the park as Moyes now gained first-hand experience of what it is like to have teams who come to Old Trafford without a flicker of hope and believing that they can only lose. The win means that his side have won three successive home games and are now on a six-game unbeaten run, stretching back to the start of the month.

With games against Real Sociedad in the Champions League and Arsenal in the league coming up in the next 10 days, Moyes will be hoping that his side continue their good form and roar back into contention for the League title, which, at the moment, looks a long way away.