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Manchester United scraped past a hard-working Norwich City side 2-0 at Old Trafford. In the process, United managed a record-breaking 19th consecutive home win in the Premier League. Here are the player ratings.
MANCHESTER UNITEDAnders Lindegaard (7): He certainly staked his claim for a first team role as he kept his concentration and kept denying Norwich.
Phil Jones (9): Jones has had a shaky week but he more than made up for it with a rock solid performance. Bailed Evans out time and time again and refused to be bullied by Morison as he held his own.
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Jonathan Evans (6): Had a nightmare against Steve Morison and kept getting beaten in the air by the forward. Was thankful to Jones for bailing him out on a number of occasions.
Patrice Evra (6): A very unusual day for the stand-in skipper. He was solid at the back but couldn’t offer anything going forward.
Antonio Valencia (5.5): Showed his inexperience in the right-back role when he was robbed of possession by Pilkington who raced through towards goal, but he will be grateful the Canaries winger couldn’t find the back of the net.
Darren Fletcher (6.5): Fletcher, now on a full fledged comeback from his illness, kept play ticking along. Looked fit enough in the second half and produced a couple of decent cross field balls.
Anderson (7): He might have scored United’s opener but he lacked spark for most of the game. His passes went astray and he kept frustrating his team-mates with his decision-making.
Nani (6): He was ineffective against the solid Tierney. Did manage to work himself into a shooting position on a couple of occasions, but did not influence proceedings and was replaced by Ryan Giggs.
Park Ji-Sung (6.5): ‘Three-lung’ Park, as he’s fondly known, put in his usual hard-working shift but was frustrated by Naughton. Did well to find Welbeck for United’s second goal.
Wayne Rooney (7): He looked a bit lackluster in the first half as Barnett and Russell Martin kept shutting him out. Had more influence in the second half and almost scored with a beautiful chip which just clipped the top of the bar.
Javier Hernandez (6): Was lacking sharpness as he was caught offside three times in the first half. He had an unusually quiet afternoon and was taken off for Welbeck.
Subs:Ryan Giggs (7.5): Replaced the ineffective Nani and produced a superb cameo role. Delivered the corner which led to Anderson’s goal.
Danny Welbeck (7.5): Came on for the out-of-sorts Chicharito and staked his claim for a first team place with his fifth goal of the season.
Rio Ferdinand (N/A): Came on for Anderson to help out at the back, and sealed a clean sheet for his side.
NORWICH CITYJohn Ruddy (7): He wasn’t tested by Manchester United at all in the first half. Could do absolutely nothing about the goals. Communicated well with his defense and almost kept a shut out.
Leon Barnett (8): An inspiring performance by the Canaries center-back. He was a rock for 90 minutes and did not allow Rooney and Hernandez any space at all. Worked his socks off.
Russell Martin (8.5): Marshalled his defensive troops superbly. Norwich came to Old Trafford with a game plan and Martin played his part to perfection. He and Barnett were unbeatable at times and were unlucky to be on the losing side.
Marc Tierney (7.5): He did what most left-backs in the world struggle to do: he shackled Nani. Tierney kept the winger at bay and rendered him ineffective. Was only beaten once in the first half but Nani scuffed his effort.
Kyle Naughton (8): Played his part in Norwich’s back four. He kept coming inside and kept narrowing the playing field. Lambert will be be proud of his loanee who stood his own against intense pressure.
Bradley Johnson (8): Played a tigerish role in midfield and kept stifling and frustrating the United midfield.
David Fox (6): Good energetic shift by Fox but could have done better when he had possession.
Wesley Hoolahan (6): Tried his best to support Morison but his best wasn’t good enough on the day. Was replaced by Chris Martin with five minutes left.
Anthony Pilkington (7): He had the best chance of the day for Norwich but he spurned his moment to shine when he failed to beat Lindegaard from a one-on-one situation. Hit the post via a deflection and put in a hard working shift but the former United trainee will be wondering how he didn’t score.
Elliott Bennett (6): Like the rest of his team-mates, Bennett worked his socks off. Didn’t venture forward much as he preferred to keep it tight in midfield.
Steve Morison (8): What a fantastic performance by Morison! He had a thankless task as he played the role of the lone striker. He kept beating Evans in the air and had the center-back rattled for most of the game.
Subs:Simeon Jackson (5): Replaced David Fox as Norwich looked to find their equalizer but failed to impress as his side were pinned back.
Andrew Crofts (N/A): Came on late in the game and couldn’t influence the game.
Chris Martin (N/A): Replaced Hoolahan in the dying stages. Had not much to do.
