Manchester United 4, Norwich City 0

Wayne Rooney makes it 4-0 to Manchester United. Picture: Paul Chesterton / Focus Images

David Cuffley Saturday, March 2, 2013
5:12 PM

A hat-trick from Japanese forward Shinji Kagawa condemned Norwich City to defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney added a fourth goal in the final minute to wrap up what was ultimately a comprehensive victory.

United opened up a 15-point gap at the top of the table as the Canaries suffered their first defeat in five league games.

Kagawa scored the first in stoppage time at the end of the first half, after Robin van Persie had flicked on a cross by Antonio Valencia.

The second goal came on 76 minutes when Kagawa sidefooted home from a Rooney pass, and the man from Japan completed his treble from another Rooney assist on 87 minutes.

Rooney floated in a superb fourth to complete a fairly miserable afternoon for Chris Hughton’s men, who also picked up four yellow cards.

City had a bright spell early in the second half and at 1-0, Russell Martin should have had the ball in the net when he hooked a shot over, but skipper Grant Holt had already been penalised for a foul.

City’s starting line-up showed one change from the 2-1 victory over Everton with Anthony Pilkington recalled at the expense of Luciano Becchio, who dropped to the bench.

Jonny Howson continued in midfield in the absence of Alex Tettey, sidelined by a knee injury.

United showed five changes to the team that started the 2-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers with recalls for Jonny Evans, Antonio Valencia, Anderson, Rooney and Kagawa.

There was no 1,000th senior professional appearance for veteran Ryan Giggs, who was not included in the 18, but striker Van Persie was included after recovering from the hip injury he suffered at Loftus Road, manager Sir Alex Ferguson having declared him fit on Friday.

City made a promising break in the third minute but Johnson spoiled the move with an overhit cross from the left.

Seconds later, Snodgrass was in pain after Kagawa trod on his knee as completed a sliding challenge, but he was back on his feet moments later to tackle Nani.

Bunn raced out to stop Rooney getting on the end of Van Persie’s pass as United threatened.

A free-kick by Van Persie was nodded down by Vidic and bounced ominously across the penalty area before City were able to clear.

With 15 minutes gone, Bunn needed attention when he was caught by Van Persie’s boot. The Dutchman played a one-two with Rooney and went in hard for the return, leaving the keeper nursing his thigh.

City threatened again when Holt jumped to meet Hoolahan’s cross from the left but his header across the six-yard box was claimed by De Gea.

United were putting on most of the pressure, though, and Carrick squeezed in a low shot that Bunn saved to his left.

Vidic headed over the top from a Van Persie corner, and though it appeared Bassong may have got the final touch, a goal-kick was given.

Turner blocked a shot by Rooney after Evra had given Russell Martin the slip, then Rooney forced a corner with a shot that ballooned out via a deflection.

Martin was next to block a shot by Rooney after an inricate passing move as United tried to find a way through.

With 10 minutes to the break, Van Persie was way off target with a shot more akin to a rugby conversion.

Van Persie’s header struck Turner in the closing minute of the half, and in first half stoppage time United went ahead through Kagawa, Valencia crossed from the right, Van Persie flicked it past Bassong and Kagawa slotted his shot past Bunn, though he did not catch it cleanly.

There was still time for Snodgrass to be booked for a foul on Evra that had Ferguson protesting to the fourth official.

• Half-time: Manchester United 1, Norwich City 0

Five minutes into the half, City fashioned a move of promise and Vidic had to clear at the near post as Snodgrass challenged for Martin’s cross.

Martin had the chance to cross again moments later but his centrre sailed over the head of Holt.

Bunn came out to deny Rooney as Kagawa put him through, poking the ball away amid optimistic appeals for a penalty by the home crowd.

A foul by Vidic on Holt gave City a free-kick 10 yards into the United half, Snodgrass floating it towards Bassong but the defender’s header looping into De Gea’s hands.

Bassong got his head to a Pilkington corner and as Norwich began to look livelier, Howson’s long-range shot deflected wide off Carrick.

It was a bright spell and Martin appeared to miss a golden chance to equalise on 62 minutes when Holt nodded down Pilkington’s cross to the far post, but the full-back hooked the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy. However, referee Swarbrick had penalised Holt for a foul on Evra.

Rooney fired a poor effort wide before United made their first change, Welbeck replacing Van Persie after 66 minutes.

Garrido was booked for a body check on Valencia, who continued to be United’s most dangerous looking player.

With 72 minutes gone, Hoolahan made way for Kamara, looking to add to his goal from the previous week, and after Johnson had been booked for a foul on Rooney, there was a double change, Elliott Bennett replacing Snodgrass for Norwich and Anderson making way for Cleverley for United.

But it looked like game over on 76 minutes when Kagawa struck his second of the match.

Carrick’s long ball forward was brought under control by Rooney and he stepped inside Bassong to roll the ball perfectly into Kagawa’s path for a simple finish.

Bunn made a good save from Welbeck as United threatened a third, after Rooney’s run had been blocked off by Turner.

Welbeck was rolling on the ground after a challenge from Turner that led to a belated yellow card from referee Swarbrick, the fourth of the afternoon.

With three minutes left, Kagawa completed his hat-trick with a delicate finish, flicking his shot over Bunn after another Rooney pass.

City were ragged by now and in the final minute, Rooney floated a magnificent fourth goal just out of reach of Bunn.

Becchio replaced Holt before the game restarted in a fairly pointless substitution.

• Manchester United: De Gea; Smalling, Evans, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Anderson (Cleverley, 74), Kagawa; Rooney, Van Persie (Welbeck, 66). Subs (not used): Lindegaard, Rafael da Silva, Nani, Young, Hernandez.

• Norwich City: Bunn; Russell Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido; Howson, Johnson; Snodgrass (Elliott Bennett, 74), Hoolahan (Kamara, 72), Pilkington; Holt (Becchio, 90). Subs (not used): Camp, Whittaker, Ryan Bennett, Fox.

• Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

• Attendance: 71,586

• Goals: United: Kagawa (45, 76, 87), Rooney (90)

• Bookings: City: Snodgrass (45), Garrido (69), Johnson (73), Turner (82)

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26 comments

Not happy but I will survive. We can win against the top teams but on balance, the likes of ManU are always going to be able to push us around at the moment.

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Swiss Canary

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Ged baby...how many rubber gloves do you get through in a year?..

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tom the taxi

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Oh well pals, never mind. Our winning run was never going to go on for ever. We did really well to keep it going for as long as we did. We did well to keep Utd down to 4 and to be honest us getting 0 was a bit flattering! Not to worry, I took 3 of my girlfriends up to the match as a guest of Mr Glazer Jr, what a gentleman he is. Truly world class corporate entertainment and a very fun (but tiring) night and morning with the girls! Wink, wink. Whooton Out! All the best pals! Ged - Lover, Legend, Leader.

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Ged Steroo

Sunday, March 3, 2013
For me the tactics were correct yesterday (We were playing Man U !!!) managed to kept it tight for 70 minutes & were the better team in the second half until we made the substitutions. I thought Elliott Bennett was very poor when he came on though.

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spark

Sunday, March 3, 2013
What I attempted to do earlier was to compare the "flattering" nature of ManU`s win with that of Liverpool`s similar scoreline over Wigan. As I recall, the MotD stats showed Wigan had more shots on target than Liverpool? Certainly they had SOME on target as Pepé Reina made several very good saves. Now, Martinez has the right to feel a tad aggrieved.... we had ZERO shots on target yesterday. We seemed to be holding the ball OK for most of the 1st half, then started giving it away. Fatal against any Prem side, let alone MU.

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Mad Brewer

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Has Lobbo morphed into Yoda? I don't have a problem with trying to keep it tight against Utd at Old Trafford. Ok it didn't work yesterday, but it did when we played against them at our place and overall, 3points from Utd in a season is not a bad return. I do agree with comments about our passing. The result was inevitable when you keep giving the ball back to them. This isn't just a problem from yesterday and is something that has to be addressed in the summer. We need a defensive midfielder who can distribute the ball better than Tettey and Johnson (yes I know Tettey didn't play). I thought we tired badly as a result of not keeping the ball and got picked off by some quality movement and finishing. On balance I do think it was a fair result. Now on for Soton and lets hope we go for the win.

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Preston Canary

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Has Lobbo morphed into Yoda? I don't have a problem with trying to keep it tight against Utd at Old Trafford. Ok it didn't work yesterday, but it did when we played against them at our place and overall, 3points from Utd in a season is not a bad return. I do agree with comments about our passing. The result was inevitable when you keep giving the ball back to them. This isn't just a problem from yesterday and is something that has to be addressed in the summer. We need a defensive midfielder who can distribute the ball better than Tettey and Johnson (yes I know Tettey didn't play). I thought we tired badly as a result of not keeping the ball and got picked off by some quality movement and finishing. On balance I do think it was a fair result. Now on for Soton and lets hope we go for the win.

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Preston Canary

Sunday, March 3, 2013
If the ManCs do the biz on Villa tomorrow we`ll have an 8-point cushion over AV, too. Interesting that 4 of our final 10 games are vs Soton, Reading, Villa & Wigan. "6-pointers"? Realistically, 8 points from those should see us safe. 12 would be nice........

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Mad Brewer

Sunday, March 3, 2013
I`m not re-typing that. Life`s too short.

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Mad Brewer

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Failed in my wiziwig attempt - got all the way to the last step & it told me something had to be installed. It all went haywire after that! Thanks for trying, Stew. I really am a computer dunce. Radio commentary & highlights had to suffice. The worrying thing about the City performance was the total lack of a goal threat. Watching the Wigan highlights, although they also got a 4-0 beating from Liverpool, they did muster several good shots & headers on Target. Pepé Reina made a few very good saves. We need to move on, scrape up the points we need to survive and build for next season. Soton, Reading, Villa at home; Wigan away. There are enough points to be had, surely? Disappointing day.

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Mad Brewer

Sunday, March 3, 2013
A game well controlled by our boys for most of the game, but spoiled by a couple of Man Utd players obviously trained at the Tom Daley School of Football, and a referee dishing out yellow cards like some Billy No Mates desperate not to spend his birthday alone.

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cornwallcanary

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Given some of the comments on here it seems that sales of FIFA football manager 2013 are on the up!

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stayingup

Sunday, March 3, 2013
Until very late in the game the score looked not too bad. Is Hughton the first manager to try and play it safe at Old Trafford?

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DocOhNo

Sunday, March 3, 2013
I'm very disappointed Hughton didn't give it a go today and play 2 upfront, it would have at least made for a better game to watch. This tactic of not tying to concede a goal works OK against some teams but it's just not worth playing against Man U, hopefully we will be more positive against the saints.OTBC

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MrCarrowIsInTheHouse

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Fair enough, we lost to Man Utd, but come on Hughton, give the players a bit of freedom to express themselves. I'm bored of seeing 2 holding midfielders every game, no matter what formation. Let one of them join an attack and give defenders another player to think about.

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NCFC Luke

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Wiziwig ;-)

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sharky

Saturday, March 2, 2013
A good stint in the first half by the boys. Maybe a bit outclassed by the millions, but who cares. Their first goal from a throw-in that should have been ours. No wonder the boys were at the Ref at half-time. He gave us nothing. Holt a great leader but was walking later in the game and should have been subbed before 90th min. Still 8 points clear OTBC. Thanks for wigiwig ;-)

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sharky

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Some good news - Wigan 3 down at home - our 8 point cushion will be intact for another week! OTBC!

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JMH

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Following Norwich City F.C. is High Anxiety ! OTBC

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Albert Cooper

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Good first half of closing down and concentration but just fell asleep at the wrong time. I still think one upfront is negative and proven not to work. We were expected to lose, no pressure, why not have a go. Not one shot on goal is alarming but warning signs been there for a couple of months now. I thought Martin was poor again. He does well going forward but gives too much space. I would prefer Whitaker than Martin any day. Have we lost when Whitaker has started?

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AC Canary

Saturday, March 2, 2013
I think I got my points and pints mixed up ! Ha ha. See us in the PL again next season, we like NCFC in the top flight, we are going to be a force in the next few years - watch out !

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Dubai Canary

Saturday, March 2, 2013
I thought we were very unlucky and the result falttered United who did not deserve to win 4-0. Had we got to HT at 0-0 we would have been well in it. First 20 minutes of the escond half was all Norwich. Anyway, never mind, Fergie paid us a huge amount of respect by playing a full strength United team. No harm done, we were never expecting a result so 1-0 or 4-0 it matters little. The ONLY thing that matters now is Southampton at Home on 9 March. 10 games to go, 30 pints up for grabs and 30 ooints to play for. Good luck United with your PL title, at least we had 3 points off you this season. See you again next year !! OTBC

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Dubai Canary

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Another lesson on how to play football dealt out by the League Champions.. plan and simple..

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Footyboy16

Saturday, March 2, 2013
I read this differently to Lobbo. This match was live on TV in Portugal. We defended brilliantly and held out the best team in England for 47 minutes before conceding on a Van Persie deflection. OK, first half totally backs to the wall, and we didn't have one shot on goal. That seems poor....but not necessarily. The 2nd half we showed more endeavour, but after the 2nd goal Chris Hughton did what we fans have called for. He recognised that plan B was the only chance and went for it. OK, we lost 4 nil, but in the process went 442, and went for it. We were going to lose anyway, so I commend Hughtons decision to go 442 and go for it. I felt far, far, prouder of my team after this defeat, than I have over some sterile nil draws that a positive attitude could have turned into victory. This time we were beaten by a far, far more expensive and superior team, but we showed pride and spirit. Well done Norwich....now, heads up, and go put Southampton to the sword next week!!!

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Algarve Canary

Saturday, March 2, 2013
and 'Steady On' how about starting your posting with something like "well, actually I saw the game differently" etc. etc.

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Lobbo

Saturday, March 2, 2013
Disappointed I am, of course. The commentator on Setanta said " It's virtually impossible to come to Old Trafford and defend for 90 minutes". So what was our plan, catch them on the break as they swept forward, I don't think so with the formation we started with. Back to our old ways CH. If fact the goal just before half time was the best thing that could have happened to us. It made us play a bit. Mind you, 1 shot off target and that was it . Too many poor passes and too many of our players with their heads down.

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Lobbo

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Multimedia

Manchester United 4, Norwich City 0

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Manchester City 2, Norwich City 3

A magnificent solo goal by midfielder Jonny Howson clinched a notable victory for Norwich City as they wrapped up their season by beating Premier League runners-up Manchester City on their own ground.

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