Manchester United somehow managed to crawl their way over the line after Juan Mata scored the only goal in a 1-0 win 20 minutes from time. The lack of quality from both the teams was appalling and it was hardly a surprise that an error played a huge part in Mata’s winning goal.
The win keeps United in the hunt for a top-4 finish this season while Norwich are likely to go down after tonight’s home defeat. After a forgettable game at Carrow Road, we take a look at the best and worst rated players from Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Norwich.
Norwich Player Ratings vs Man United
Ruddy (5); Pinto (5), Martin (5), Bassong (4), Olsson (4.5); Redmond (5), Howson (5), O’Neil (5), Brady (5.5); Hoolahan (5); Jerome (5)
Substitutes: Mbokani (4), Bamford (NA), Dorrans (NA)
For a team battling relegation, The Canaries had very little fight in them. Seeing how Newcastle and Sunderland have scrapped for every point in recent weeks, Norwich deserve to go down if that is how the seasons ends.
Manchester United Player Ratings vs Norwich
De Gea (6), Valencia (6), Smalling (5), Rojo (4.5), Darmian (5), Carrick (5), Herrera (5), Lingard (4.5), Memphis (4), Mata (6), Rooney (5)
Substitutes: Borthwick-Jackson (5), Schneiderlin (4), Fosu-Mensah (NA)
It was a shambolic night for fans who tuned in to watch some exciting football. Both teams had so much riding on this game but the lack of quality was baffling. These are the kind of performances which has seen Van Gaal get criticized for throughout this season.
It was a moment of madness from Sebastian Bassong when he misread ball’s flight and then it was Rooney’s intelligence to keep the game alive and feed Mata with the chance to score on the night and continue United’s push for the top-4 finish.
Image Credit: Getty