Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City: 3 Reasons Why Red Devils cruised to victory | Premier League 2019-20

Manchester United hosted Norwich City for the 22nd match week of the Premier League season. Prior to the game, all eyes were on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has he was under a lot of pressure after Manchester City outplayed United at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final.

Norwich City, on the other hand, were coming into the game on the back of a win against Preston in the FA Cup. The match started with the home side dominating possession and creating chances. It wasn't long before the Red Devils took the lead, thanks to a lovely finish from Marcus Rashford after a lovely pass from Juan Mata.

Norwich only had one shot on goal in the first period and that was very well saved from David de Gea. In the second half, very early on, Brandon Williams was brought down in the box from Tim Krul and a penalty was given, which was slammed into the back of the net by Rashford.

Soon after that, Anthony Martial tripled United's advantage through a lovely header after a good cross from Mata. Mason Greenwood, who was brought on for Andreas Pereira, scored the fourth on the day in his typical way, through a beautiful left-footed shot, that found the bottom corner from outside the box.

Norwich were never really in the game and in all honesty, it was an utterly dominant performance from the home side. Here, we are going to take a look at the three observations from the game.

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#3 Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira provided the creative spark

Juan Mata was at his best against Norwich

When the team sheets were released, many were questioning the inclusion of both Andreas Pereira and Mata, as both of them are number 10's but Solskjaer was proven right as both of them were constantly interchanging positions and providing the creative spark that United needed to break down Norwich.

Incisive linkup play between Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Pereira, and Mata gave the Spaniard some space down the right-hand side. He drove inside and played a lovely ball across, that was put into the back of the net by Rashford. Then, Mata again provided the assist for United's third goal.

Pereira was pulling off some lovely skills to create space, especially in the first half and he should have had an assist if Williams didn't miss an open goal from almost 2 yards out. All in all, creativity wasn't a problem for United against Norwich, thanks to the pair.

#2 Fred and Nemanja Matic were breaking lines with ease

Fred is improving constantly

This was a huge difference that one could clearly see; Nemanja Matic and Fred were taking more risks on the ball and they were finding the United attackers by breaking the opposition lines.

Under Solskjaer in a 4-2-3-1 which turns into a 4-2-4 in possession, a huge disconnect between the midfielders and attackers has been seen this season, due to the midfielders not taking enough risks and finding the attackers in space. We have seen sideways passing from this United midfield far more than what Solskjaer would have liked.

But against Norwich, Fred and Matic were finding their attackers in space and for most parts, they were playing the harder ball than the obvious sideways pass. Fred was more attacking on the day, while Matic held his position and was constantly switching play through some long diagonal balls.

This is what Solskjaer wants more from his midfield until Paul Pogba is out. The Red Devils need more risk-taking and we saw that on Saturday.

#1 United's vibrant forward ripped into Norwich City

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were incredible on the day

It was an incredible day for all of Manchester United's forwards as they annihilated Norwich City's defence. Marcus Rashford scored a brace, which takes his tally to 14 Premier League goals, leaving him only three behind the league's top scorer Jamie Vardy.

Rashford was by far United's best player on the day, especially in the first half as he was pulling off some incredible skills. Every time he got the ball, he was trying to take his man on and not pass backwards. Anthony Martial, on the other hand, was linking up play very nicely as he was constantly dropping deep, allowing the likes of Rashford and Andreas Pereira to make runs in the space he vacated.

He got himself a goal for all his hard work and it was a thumping header, to say the least. Lastly, Mason Greenwood was brought on for Pereira in the second period and the only time he got space and time on the ball, the young Englishman buried his shot in the bottom corner. So far, Greenwood is proving why Solskjaer said that he is the most natural finisher he has ever seen. The 18-year-old now has 4 goals in the Premier League and 9 in all competitions.