Manchester United 1-2 Norwich City - Player Ratings

Manchester United’s players were a dejected lot while leaving the pitch

Manchester United’s woeful run continued tonight as Alex Neil’s Norwich City stunned them at Old Trafford. Two superb counter-attacking goals via Cameron Jerome and Alexander Tettey sunk Louis van Gaal’s illustrious side.

Anthony Martial pulled one back for the hosts but some woeful performances from his peers meant all his efforts went down the drain. This was Norwich’s first win at Old Trafford since 1989, coming at an opportune time as they continue to rejuvenate their challenge to survive in Premier League.

Louis van Gaal is feeling the heat after back to back defeats against weaker opposition in the Premier League. The Reds languish in 5th place where they are nine points adrift from the leaders Leicester City.

Here are the player ratings from the match.

Manchester United

David De Gea – 6/10

The flying Spaniard was some way off from his usual world class self. The United keeper was left for dead by his defence during the second goal but he could’ve done better to avert Jerome’s effort that resulted in the first goal.

Ashley Young – 6.5/10

The versatile wide-man looked promising but only in brief spells in both halves. The Englishman was one of the few bright sparks for the Red Devils in this uninspiring display.

Phil Jones – 5.5/10

The young defender looked helpless whenever Norwich hit United on the break, especially apparent when Norwich scored their second. Jones is highly rated by his teammates and coaching staff but performances like these are the exact reasons why he isn’t a regular fixture in this feeble United rearguard.

Chris Smalling – 6/10

This was his weakest display in United colours this season. The magnificent Chris Smalling looked slightly uncomfortable tonight which raises question-marks regarding his fitness.

Daley Blind – 6/10

The Dutchman was decent in his role as a left-back and also linked up well with his compatriot Memphis down the left flank. His set-piece deliveries posed a constant threat to the Canaries’ defence but sadly his attacking mates didn’t respond to his umpteen attempts.

Michael Carrick – 6/10

It was an average day at the office for Manchester United’s midfield fulcrum. The 34 year old midfielder couldn’t shift gears when it mattered as he saw his team slip to their third straight defeat inside 10 days.

Marouane Fellaini – 5.5/10

The burly Belgian fizzled out as the game wore on as he failed to make an impact against an organized Norwich defence. He was a constant threat from set pieces but Norwich effectively dealt with him. He was caught out of position quite a few times, notably for Norwich’s first goal.

Memphis – 5/10

All style but no substance, is what sums up the night for the Dutch prodigy. The winger was fairly impotent for large swathes of the game. It was disappointing performance from the former PSV man.

Juan Mata – 6.5/10

The Spaniard was effusive in the first half and to an extent during the earlier part of the second half, but he too failed leave any kind of impact on this game with his bland performance.

Anthony Martial – 7.5/10

The Golden Boy of 2015 was the only player looked like he could conjure something out of thin air to save a failing Manchester United team. And he did give United a ray of hope with his goal but sadly it wasn’t enough to save his team from a shameful defeat.

Wayne Rooney – 6/10

The Manchester United captain is failing to lead from the front as Wayne Rooney continues his poor run of form. The Englishman was celebrating his 500th appearance for Manchester United, and looked creative in spurts, but failed to assert his quality.

Substitutes

Ander Herrera – 6/10

The Stretford End favourite was brought on to change the course of game for the hosts, but the Spaniard made a rusty return after a brief injury layoff.

Jerome was instrumental in Norwich’s historic win at Old Trafford

Norwich City

Declan Rudd – 7/10

Rudd continued his promising run of form as he played an integral part in scripting a historic win at Old Trafford. Although he was barely tested by the United frontline, he was decisive in the box when United searched for the equaliser late in the game.

Russell Martin – 7.5/10

The Norwich captain was solid in the right-back role as he kept Memphis Depay in check for the entire game, most notably preventing Depay from a certain goal with a last-ditch block. He led from the front, unlike his opposite number in red.

Ryan Bennett – 7/10

The Canaries veteran played an able partner to Sebastian Bassong in the heart of the defence as they held Manchester United at bay for almost 70 minutes.

Sebastian Bassong – 8/10

He was the pick of the bunch in the Norwich defence as he negated the threat of Wayne Rooney for the entire game. He was also strong in tackle which was the highlight of his game.

Martin Olsson – 7/10

The experienced Swede was effervescent down the left flank as he managed the duo of Ashley Young and Anthony Martial in the first half and Juan Mata in the second with aplomb.

Nathan Redmond – 8/10

Redmond was at his fiery best as he blazed his way past the Manchester United defence every time on the counterattack. He was instrumental in both the goals scored by Norwich and also backed up his creativity with some industry as he tracked back to help his fullback.

Gary O'Neil – 7/10

O’Neil was strong in the heart midfield as he frequently broke up Manchester United’s attacks in the final third. It was a solid performance by the Englishman.

Alexander Tettey – 9/10

Tettey was by far the best player on the field tonight as he powered Norwich to a historic win with his steely display. The Norwegian midfielder was instrumental in Norwich’s rapier-like counter-attacks as he utilized the vacant spaces in midfield to split Manchester United’s defence.

Robbie Brady – 7.5/10

He started out the game as a winger but as the game entered into the final quarter of an hour he was acting as a secondary right-back to support Russell Martin against Memphis.

Wes Hoolahan – 6/10

It was an average game for Norwich’s chief playmaker as he somehow failed to exert his influence on the game. Nonetheless, he did just enough to see his side emerge victorious at the Theatre of Dreams.

Cameron Jerome – 8/10

He was crucified last week for his appalling miss last week against Everton. Today, he killed all those ghosts from last week with his opening salvo at Old Trafford. He was absolutely unplayable tonight, especially on the counter where his speed and physicality proved too much for Phil Jones to handle.

Substitute

Youssouf Mulumbu – 6/10

He was brought on to replace Gary O’Neil and he did just what his gaffer ordered. He was solid in midfield as he had no problems whatsoever in taking his United counterparts.

Dieumerci Mbokani – 6/10

Like Mulumbu, he too played his role to the tee. He had a glorious opportunity to score third for the Canaries but sadly he couldn’t grab his solitary chance of the game.