It wasn’t one of the most convincing victories for Manchester United against Norwich City at the Carrow Road yesterday. With a few Norwich players sidelined due to COVID-19 issues, United went into the match with lots of hope and expectations.
But in the end, a scrappy win that all counted for the Red Devils. All thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty that kept them in the top 5. With games coming thick and fast, United have a month to prove by the end of this year.
This was Ralf Rangnick’s 2nd win in as many matches with 2 clean sheets as well. But lots of work to de done honestly. Dean Smith kept his team in the hunt right till the end. David de Gea once again ensured us why he is our No 1 goalkeeper.
Norwich should be blamed themselves for the loss as United fullbacks kept a lot of space open for them to drive forward and it would have been a different scenario on any other day.
Here are 5 things we learned from the game.
1. Rangnick went for the same lineup and formation.
It seems Rangnaick 4-2-2-2 didn’t seem to work against Dean Smith Norwich last night. The Canaries used both the empty flanks of United to the fullest. Telles and Dalot couldn’t able to cover up their runs and overlaps as they did in the previous match.
The same formation is not going to work for the teams that rely on counter-attacks. 4-1-3-2 or 4-3-3 needs to be implemented. As it was mentioned earlier in a few articles, Rangnick will take some time to get used to Premier League exposure. But at the end of the day, the German is yielding results that are all the fans want for the time being.
2. No attacking threats from the Manchester United players.
They didn’t play up to their levels. The flair from the Crystal Palace match was missing. United made a sloppy and sluggish start in the game. A lot of loose forward passes from Fernandes and Rashford in the opening 30′.
Ironically, Fred and McTominay were the players in the midfield who were robust and had the intensity to win the ball in the midfield. The United’s attacking players failed to keep up the tempo and energy under Rangnick. A lot of players are yet to find their suitable position in the team.
3. David de Gea’s heroics saved Manchester United again.
The Spanish goalkeeper was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. A couple of world-class saves to deny Teemu Pukki and Ozan Kabak. He seems to continue his great run. Back-to-back clean sheet for him. On the other hand, Tim Krul was equally good in the 1st half. Both the goalkeepers were in the game.
4. A stodgy performance from Ronaldo, Rashford and Fernandes.
Rangnick told us in the post-match interview of the Palace match that Fred and McTominay are going to be the players that he will need the most. And it literally showed last night. But the above-mentioned attacking trio was simply poor and was short of attacking abilities at the Carrow Road. They gave away the possession very cheaply, never were involved in the run and built up.
Ronaldo though hitting the net from the spot will have a night to remember. He had the best chance of the game to go up 0-2 in the last 5 minutes of the play. But a horrible shot from very close range kept it 0-1.
5. Defence section seems to have improved.
Lindelof who had a health issue (cardiac) played well along with his partner Maguire. Bailly was brought in for the Swedish International. The latter made a decisive block from Gilmour’s shot to keep United in the game. McTominay had a brilliant day in the defensive area of the midfield. Winning the balls on a few occasions, no clumsy challenges from him.
