PLAYER RATINGS vs Norwich: Rooney & Mata Make The Difference

David de Gea: 7/10

Had relatively little to do for the whole match but made a stunning save late on to deny Elmander a chance to score a consolation goal for Norwich.

Phil Jones: 7/10

Did well considering he was playing at right-back, which is not his best spot on the field. Got up the field with a lot of enthusiasm, linked well with Valencia and Carrick. Some of his crosses were not great at first, but he managed to grab an assist for Juan Mata’s second goal. A much improved performance than that against Everton in United’s last match.

Rio Ferdinand: 7.5/10

Looked calm and composed on the ball, like he always does. Played a major part alongside Vidic ensuring that de Gea got to keep a clean sheet. Read the game beautifully, which is one of his best traits, and minimized the threat caused by van Wolfswinkel (and Gary Hooper later on).

Nemanja Vidic: 7.5/10

Rio Ferdinand’s defensive counterpart did equally as well. Won towering headers and read the game beautifully throughout. Had a moment of flare with Robert Snodgrass – who was lucky to leave the pitch alive!

Patrice Evra: 6.5/10

Looked far better defensively today than he did against Everton. As always, he joined the attack whenever he could. Evra and Kagawa are building a good partnership down the left hand side. Though he did not have a great effect attacking wise, it was still a decent display from the veteran.

Antonio Valencia: 6/10

Offered pace and strength whilst going forward, and made a number of tackles in the match. Was frustrating to watch sometimes, as he couldn’t cross the ball past the first man on a number of occasions and sat on the ball for too long.

Tom Cleverley: 5/10

Ryan Giggs showed great faith in Tom after starting him ahead of Juan Mata, but it would be safe to say that Cleverley did not take the opportunity with both hands.

Average throughout the match, and had no effect whatsoever.

Michael Carrick: 6.5/10

Looked neater in possession than he has done throughout this season, and also made a couple of nice, long forward passes on the counter attack.

Shinji Kagawa: 7.5/10

Looked good on the ball and was a great attacking outlet in the first half. Would have enjoyed playing alongside Mata, but was taken off shortly after the arrival of the Spaniard.

Danny Welbeck: 7/10

Looked very eager to score a goal (even tried playing on when he was brought down for the penalty) and was making those runs when long balls were being played forward. Add a lot of agility to the attack, and closed down the opposition very quickly.

Wayne Rooney: 8/10

He wasn’t having a great game until he scored the penalty, which must have given him a major confidence boost. Norwich allowed him to have too much space, and he punished them with a fantastic long range goal. Had other long ranged chances too, which were stopped nicely by John Ruddy. Unlucky not to have gotten a hattrick.

SUBS

Juan Mata: 8/10

Scored 2 goals after coming off the bench, making it 5 in 4 games for him. Linked with other players very well, and played some neat one touch football with the likes of Kagawa, Rooney, Chicharito and Valencia.

Ashley Young: 6/10

Didn’t make a remarkable cameo off the bench. Tried a couple of curlers, but they ended up going quite wide off the goal.

Chicharito: 7/10

Came off the bench to replace Cleverley. Looked lively and played good one touch football. Linked up well outside the box, showing his game is not just in and around the box anymore.