Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata netted two goals each for United, who piled yet more relegation woe on the Canaries at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand paired up in defence for the hosts, with Danny Welbeck starting in attack. Mata was on the bench, with Adnan Januzaj and Marouane Fellaini left out entirely. For the away side, Gary Hooper was among the substitutes despite scoring against Liverpool last weekend.
United started on the front foot, with Antonio Valencia prominent on the right flank. Norwich almost grabbed a shock opener, however, Jonny Howson seeing his effort chalked off for a foul in the area. United’s first chance fell to Welbeck, whose powerful effort was palmed away by John Ruddy at his near post. The England striker would continue to threaten, however, and played a crucial role in the opener.
After some pinball in the Norwich box, Welbeck was dragged down by Steven Whittaker at the expense of a penalty. Rooney stepped up and made no mistake, sending John Ruddy the wrong way to the relief for the home fans. That would prove to be the only goal of the first half.
United found a second within five minutes of the restart. Rooney was the scorer once more, drifting into a huge pocket of space and guiding his shot into the net via the far post, despite slipping at the crucial moment.
United were suddenly rampant, Welbeck and Vidic going close before Mata came off the bench to bag a brace. Both of his goals were instinctive finishes following crosses from the right: the first a side-footed finish from Phil Jones’ ball, the second a close-range header.
The home side played out the remaining minutes in complete comfort, to the clear delight of Giggs, who left to a hearty round of applause.
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