Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City: 3 Talking points | Premier League 2019-20

Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League
Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League

Manchester United got their first win of the year against last-placed Norwich City, thanks to a Marcus Rashford brace and second-half goals from Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood. Though a 4-0 scoreline is by no means a small achievement, in all honesty, the Red Devils could've had a couple more goals.

Rashford continued his red-hot form for the hosts as he bagged his 13th Premier League goal of the season in the 27th minute, opening the scoring following a brilliant ball in from Juan Mata, and doubled their advantage early in the second half via a penalty after Brandon Williams was brought down by Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Mata was again involved in the buildup as his quick thinking from the corner in the 54th minute caught the Norwich defense off-guard, allowing United to score two goals in three minutes in the early stages of the second half.

It was these three minutes that signaled that it was all over for the Canaries.

With United desperate for their first win in the new year across all competitions, it was a dominant display in the midfield that delivered the three points for the Red Devils. It was one-way traffic throughout the game, with the visitors only really troubling the United defense on a couple of occasions.

So, with the game turning out in favor of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, we take a look at the three major talking points from the fixture.

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#3 Juan Mata shows his class

Juan Mata started for just the sixth time this season
Juan Mata started for just the sixth time this season

Juan Mata started for the first time in more than a month and Solskjaer's tactic to prefer the veteran midfielder in place of new signing Daniel James paid off huge dividends, with the Spaniard setting up two of the four goals for the home side.

He created the first goal from almost nothing, collecting the ball from the right flank and whipping in a perfectly weighted ball for Rashford, who simply had to direct it into the back of the net.

He showed quick thinking in the buildup of the third goal, catching the visitors cold with a delightful ball from a quickly-taken corner.


#2 Marcus Rashford continues to prove himself indispensable to United

Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League
Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League

Marcus Rashford is currently the top scorer for United in the Premier League this season, scoring 14 goals in 22 appearances, of which ten have come at the Old Trafford. He has scored more goals at home than any other player in the league thus far.

Time and again this season, the 22-year-old has proved to be the match-winner for the Red Devils and tonight was no different. He cooly slotted home Mata's delightful ball in the 27th minute to break the deadlock and then held his nerves to convert from the spot in the second half.

He remained a constant threat for the Canaries' back four in his 59-minute show at the Old Trafford, causing all sorts of trouble for them by his quick feet and linkup play with Mata and Martial.


#1 David De Gea and United keep their fourth clean sheet of the season

Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League
Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League

Though Norwich's attacking department never looked dangerous tonight, they did get close on a couple of occasions, but David De Gea proved more than capable of holding his own and produced a stunning save in the dying moments of the first-half to deny Todd Cantwell's low curling effort.

The United back four enjoyed a relatively comfortable day at the office, with the opposition only managing eight shots, of which only three were on target. Right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaska also had one of his better games of the season and worked hard down the right flank and made a fantastic interception towards the end of the first half after Williams gave the ball away.

Williams, his defense partner on the left-hand side of the field, also proved highly effective, with his marauding run in the second half, that forced the penalty and secured the game for the Reds, proving to be the highlight of his performance.

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Edited by Anurag Sharma