Juan Mata keeps Manchester United’s top four hopes alive as Norwich slip closer to the drop

A Juan Mata goal in the second half was enough to help a lacklustre Manchester United beat Norwich City 1-0 at Carrow Road in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

Louis van Gaal sprung a surprise with his team selection, leaving Marcus Rashford and Daley Blind out of the matchday squad and not naming a striker on the bench. But the move backfired when Anthony Martial hobbled out of the warm-up, leaving United with very few attacking options and no pace up top to threaten Norwich’s slow back-four.

It was the Canaries who started the game the better, with Cameron Jerome drawing another excellent save out of David de Gea with a downward header. And a Chris Smalling effort that flew over the bar was all that United had to show for a disappointing first half.

However, Norwich failed to threaten after that early opportunity and the visitors slowly took control of the game.

The goal when it came was courtesy of a long-ball over the top. Wayne Rooney did his best to waste the opportunity, but held on to the ball long enough to feed Mata for the finish.

The result leaves United breathing down the necks of Manchester City and Arsenal in the race for the top four, while Norwich now need a major helping hand from both Newcastle and Sunderland if they are to overtake the north-east pair.

Where was the fight from Norwich? Alex Neil’s side knew they had to win this to stand much of a chance of avoiding the drop, but after an initial flurry there was a concerning lack of attacking intent from the Canaries. Do the players even care about the club’s future? Or is it more that they don’t have the quality to deliver when it counts? Either way, the Norwich fans were right to luck glum at full-time. The writing is on the wall.

Juan Mata (Manchester United) – Mata was the only United player who ever looked likely to unlock the Norwich defence in an otherwise disappointing team performance. His finish was cool and calm, but he’ll need to thank Rooney for mucking up the chance to bury it himself. And as if that weren't enough, he then made the effort to greet - and pose for a photo with - a young United fan who'd attended the match in a wheelchair.

Norwich: Ruddy 6; Pinto 6, Martin 5, Bassong 7, Olsson 6; Redmond 6, Howson 5, O'Neil 5, Brady 5; Hoolahan 6; Jerome 6. Subs: Mbokani 6, Bamford 5, Dorrans 5.

Man Utd: De Gea 8; Valencia 5, Smalling 7, Rojo 6, Darmian 6; Carrick 6, Herrera 6; Mata 8, Lingard 5, Memphis 5; Rooney 6. Subs: Borthwick-Jackson 6, Schneiderlin 5, Fosu-Mensah 5.

4’ – SAVE – Jerome is picked out in the box and his excellent downward header is brilliantly saved by David De Gea. United are on the ropes and once again they have their goalkeeper to thank.

28’ – CHANCE – Chris Smalling rises highest to meet the resulting corner and thumps a header narrowly over the bar. That's United's best chance of the game by some distance.

72’ – GOAL! Norwich City 0-1 Manchester United: Juan Mata opens the scoring for Manchester United. A long ball over the top put Rooney through, but he took an age to pull the trigger and the chance to shoot himself disappeared. However, Rooney didn't lose his head, turning and feeding Mata to slot underneath the keeper. 1-0.

Juan Mata has scored more Premier League goals against Norwich City than any other opponent (5).

Wayne Rooney is now joint-third for assists in Premier League history (95, level with Cesc Fabregas).

Norwich City have won just one of their last eight Premier League matches at Carrow Road (W1 D2 L5).

Manchester United have lost only once in their last seven in the Premier League (W5 D1).

The Canaries have won just two of their previous eight home Premier League games versus United (L6).

Only Aston Villa (13) have lost more Premier League games in 2016 than Alex Neil’s side (12).

Manchester United have kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League team this season (18).