Cristiano Ronaldo won and scored a penalty as Manchester United beat a spirited Norwich 1-0, continuing Ralf Rangnick’s perfect start as interim manager in the Premier League.
It was not quite the scintillating first half that United had produced in Rangnick’s first game against Crystal Palace last week, with Alex Telles’ free kick being tipped onto the crossbar.
Norwich suffered an early blow when captain Grant Hanley was taken off with a shoulder injury, having fallen heavily after a tussle with Ronaldo. He was later seen watching from the touchlines with his arm in a sling.
However, Dean Smith’s side did not show any ill-effects of losing such a vital player as they dominated the second half and Przemyslaw Placheta, Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent all went close.
But if the Norwich fans were unhappy with Ronaldo’s role in Hanley’s injury, he did little to endear himself to them further when he won a penalty after Max Aarons had grappled him to the floor.
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The decision infuriated the Canaries, but Ronaldo fired home from the spot (75) to secure Rangnick’s second successive Premier League victory and clean sheet.
United had David de Gea to thank for both of those as he made late saves from Ozan Kabak to earn Gary Neville’s man of the match award. The goalkeeper also registered his 200th career clean sheet.
United now go level on points with fourth-placed West Ham, who face a trip to Burnley on Sunday, and sit in fifth place on goal difference. It was an undeserved result for Norwich, who remain bottom of the Premier League table with 10 points.
More to follow…
What’s next?
Norwich host Aston Villa at 7.45pm on Tuesday, while Man Utd go to Brentford at 7.30pm on the same night. Watch free highlights from both games shortly after full time on Sky Sports.com, the Sky Sports App and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.