Michael Carrick shows his worth on his return against Norwich

As Manchester United made it four wins on the bounce by beating Norwich City 1-0 at Carrow Road, pulling them to within three points of fourth place, Michael Carrick made his first start in six games following his return from surgery on a long-standing Achilles problem.

This is no doubt fantastic for United, given the fact that they don’t have another midfielder in Carrick’s ilk, one who can control proceedings in the manner he can. United missed his composure and vision in possession. In fact, the Red Devils failed to win four of the six games he missed, with Danny Welbeck‘s stepping up in front of goal a key reason for them winning the other two games.

Given United’s central midfield is known to be the weakest point in the squad, they can ill afford to lose the 32-year-old, who is their best player in that area. Against Norwich, he showed some of his proven quality.

He attempted more passes of any player on the pitch (71) and attempted the most tackles (eight), winning the joint most (four) as he helped try to contain a Norwich side that threatened on several occasions to cause an upset. Had they been able to get proper shots off at goal, who knows? Maybe they would have.

Sitting deep, typically, United attempted to build their forward play through Carrick as well as Tom Cleverley, who moved about the pitch to make the most of his midfield partner’s cover. In the end, United dominated possession (54%) thanks to those two, but they lacked penetration in the final third where, interestingly enough, Wayne Rooney didn’t play as expected because of injury. Their goal came as a result of good fortune, with the ball rebounding off Welbeck following a failed clearance, which allowed him to run through on goal.

But David Moyes will take it without complaint, as will the fans. Tottenham Hotspur are up next for United on New Year’s Day, making Carrick’s return even more timely. With Rooney set to return for that game, Moyes will be hoping that the creativity of the pair in tandem with Welbeck’s improved finishing can keep their winning streak going.