Ronaldo holds on to top four hopes for Man Utd

The victory over the bottom team is important for the “Red Devils” hope of reaching the top four, especially when the two rivals directly compete with Tottenham and Arsenal. all lose underdogs in this round. From seventh place, Man Utd rise to fifth, equal to Arsenal’s points but more than sub-par difference. The Old Trafford team is currently three points behind the fourth team Tottenham.

Compared to the defeat to Everton 0-1 in the previous round, Ralf Rangnick replaced four positions. Noticeably adjusted in midfield when he didn’t use any defensive midfielders with Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandezs and Jesse Lingard. The highest kicks are Ronaldo, Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho. This “super offensive” formation is more reminiscent of pre-season tests and makes many people doubtful, because Man Utd’s defense is uncertain.

In the third minute, the space in front of the Man Utd defense was used by Norwich to counterattack. But fortunately for the home team, David De Gea was excellent in the face of Teemu Pukki. Four minutes after this situation, Norwich midfielder Ben Gibson played like a dream, letting Elanga steal the ball in the penalty area before passing the ball to Ronaldo to open the scoring. This is the combination of two Man Utd players with the largest age difference in Premier League history. Ronaldo is 17 years and 81 days older than Elanga.

With a squad without a real defensive midfielder, Man Utd opened up when Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Bruno Fernandes moved wide to support Jadon Sancho and Elanga on the flanks. In the 17th minute, Sancho crossed from the left wing for Dalot to score. But, the Portuguese defender missed the center of the ball. Five minutes later, Sancho kept the ball delicately at the edge of the penalty area, then cut his heart to send the ball wide. Sancho’s breakthrough ability was the highlight of Man Utd’s attack in the middle of the first half. The English midfielder often opens spaces for teammates to shoot, but Lingard and Fernandes cannot take advantage.

The pressure of Man Utd made the Norwich defense system confused. Immediately after the situation threatened by Sancho with a close-range kick, the bottom team conceded a second goal. Alex Telles took the corner, Ronaldo ran across the face and hit the ground to beat Tim Krul. Man Utd have scored from a corner for the second time this season. Ronaldo has had the 16th consecutive season to reach 20 goals at club level.

Leading by two goals, but Man Utd’s defense often leaves space behind. After letting Norwich cause waves in front of goal a few times, Man Utd conceded a goal in the first minute of the first half. The three home players could not stop Pukki from escaping to the left corner, and then crossed for Kieran Dowell to score a header in an unmarked position. Both Telles and Sancho gave up defensive positions in this phase.

A few minutes after the second half began, Man Utd let the opponent equalize also from a sloppy defense of Telles. The Brazilian player could not keep up with the counter-attack of the visitors, allowing Dowell to poke a gap for Pukki to escape to defeat De Gea in the face-to-face position. The Finnish striker became the first Norwich player to reach 10 Premier League goals in two or more seasons.

Coach Ralf Rangnick made three substitutions after Man Utd conceded a second goal, featuring Matic, Mata and Rashford. But, the people who make up the third table are still the Elanga – Ronaldo pair. In the 76th minute, the 19-year-old striker went with a speed ball into the middle and was fouled. From a distance of 22 meters, Ronaldo took a free kick to the far corner. Krul got his hands on the ball but couldn’t stop the third goal. For the 58th time in his career Ronaldo has scored from a free kick.

Man Utd played excitedly after Ronaldo’s masterpiece. They created a few more shots that could have been scored in the last minutes, but failed to take advantage. The 3-2 victory helped the Old Trafford team raise hopes of competing for tickets to the Champions League. According to the Manchester Evening News, coach Rangnick received instructions to help the team reach the European Cup next season, before the match against Norwich.

Squad:

Man Utd: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles (Mata 74′), Lingard (Matic 63′), Pogba (Rashford 74′), Elanga, Fernandes, Sancho, Ronaldo

Norwich: Krul, Byram, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis, McLean (Gilmour 73′), Normann, Dowell (Platcheta 74′), Lees-Melou (Rowe 82′), Rashica, Pukki

Huy Dat