Manchester United blew away Norwich City with an impressive 4-0 victory on Saturday. The Red Devils, who were looking for a reaction after their underwhelming defeat at the hands of Manchester City during the midweek, made an energetic start and dominated the proceedings from the early stages of the game.
Their dominance paid off when Juan Mata's excellent cross towards the far post was calmly finished by Marcus Rashford to give the Red Devils the much-deserved lead. Left-back Brandon Williams won a penalty for his side in the second half after he was brought down by Tim Krul inside the box, and the spot kick was calmly slotted home by Rashford to complete his brace.
Anthony Martial headed home the third just moments later from a quickly taken corner and took the game far away from the reach of the Canaries. Mason Greenwood, who has been in terrific form in front of goal this season, came off the bench to score the fourth goal for the Red Devils and secure a comfortable win for his side.
Here are the top 3 performers from Manchester United's impressive victory over Norwich City:
#3 Juan Mata
Juan Mata seemed to roll back the years and was at his magnificent best against Norwich City. The Spaniard was handed a rare start in the Premier League by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and was deployed on the right side of what was presumably a 4-2-3-1 formation against the Canaries.
The 31-year-old midfielder was involved in almost everything for the Red Devils going forward and unlocked the Norwich City defence with his brilliant range of passing. The Spaniard grabbed a beautiful assist for Marcus Rashford in the first half with a gorgeous ball into the far post, which was tucked in by the Englishman from point-blank range.
He registered another in the second-half with a vicious cross from a quickly-taken corner, which was headed home by Anthony Martial. The Spanish magician was Manchester United's most influential player on the pitch and created 4 chances during the game which was more than any player on the pitch.
#2 Brandon Williams
Brandon Williams, who has been brilliant in recent games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City, was picked ahead of Luke Shaw against Norwich City and justified his selection by putting in another stellar display against the Canaries.
Despite featuring in the previous three games, the 20-year-old didn't look short of energy and his willingness to bomb forward on every occasion was commendable. The left-back was a constant threat going forward on the left for Manchester United and linked up well with both Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford on that side. He earned a penalty for his side in the second half after he was fouled by Tim Krul inside the box.
The youngster missed a great opportunity to score his second goal in a Manchester United shirt, however, the effort he put in to cover such a distance and get on the end of the cross by Andreas Pereira was eye-catching. While the young full-back had little to do defensively, he didn't put a foot wrong when called upon into action. His recent performances are making him undroppable at the moment and it's just a matter of time he becomes Manchester United's first choice left-back.
#1 Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford just can't stop scoring at the moment. The forward was on the scoresheet twice against Norwich City as he continues his red-hot form in front of goal. The Englishman is enjoying his most prolific season in a Manchester United shirt and his two goals against the Canaries took his goal tally to 14 in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old opened the scoring for the Red Devils in the first-half after he got at the end of an excellent cross from Juan Mata and buried the ball in the corner of the net with a composed one-touch finish. His second came from the penalty spot as he curled the ball out of the reach of Tim Krul in the bottom right-hand corner.
Rashford was a constant threat going forward for Manchester United and troubled the Norwich City backline with his pace and dribbling. Statistically, he was by far the best player on the pitch. The winger completed 4 out of 5 attempted dribbles, had 3 shots on target and completed 100% of his attempted long balls.
Also read: Manchester United 4-0 Norwich City: 3 Talking points | Premier League 2019-20