The result moved United to fifth in the standings with 27 points from 16 matches, behind fourth-placed West Ham United on goal difference, while Norwich were down on 10 points.
United’s interim boss Ralph Rangnick was pleased with the result and a solid defensive performance but admitted he needed to improve in every department.
never. In. Doubt. @cristiano #MUFC | #NORMUN https://t.co/4R2nQf1eXW
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“We controlled the game from the start, but there were not always the best possible solutions,” Rangnik told the BBC. “It’s another clean sheet but there’s still a lot of work to do.
“I was not at all happy with the number of corners we gave in the second half, but we got three points.
“We have two clean sheets now which is good but we still need to improve on that, especially against physical teams or teams that attack high like Norwich. They didn’t play like a bottom team.”
Ragnik’s counterpart Dean Smith was pleased with Norwich’s fighting spirit and confronted referee Darren. EnglandThe decision to award a penalty to United.
Battle Win ✔️Consecutive #PL Clean Sheet ✔️@HarryMaguire93 Was impressed by our solidarity at the Testing Con… https://t.co/LL0yyDqtjc
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“We just played two of the top six, we dominated Tottenham but we didn’t take our chances and today we went toe-to-toe with a big cannon and a questionable penalty won them over,” he added. .
United lacked the lead until Ronaldo did a spot-kick after being dropped by home defender Max Aarons in a spot-kick.
Ronaldo saw off a shot by Tim Krul in the 37th minute and the home goalkeeper also tipped off a Harry Maguire header at halftime when Alex Telles hit the bar with a deflected free kick.
United fizzled out in the second half and looked more likely to break Norwich’s deadlock as David de Gea held out a Teemu Pukki shot from the edge of the field before Ronaldo hit it, sending Krul the wrong way. Gone.
Ralph delivers honest verdict for United’s win at Norwich… #MUFC | #Norman
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The home side put pressure in the closing stages and De Gea saved United again when he deflected a Billy Gilmour shot from Eric Bailly with a last-gasp lunge.
United captain Harry Maguire praised De Gea and admitted that United were not at their best, saying they needed consistency in grinding results.
“David de Gea did a great job today,” the central defender told Sky Sports. “We’ve been so disappointed with our defensive record this year, we know we need to do better.
“When you’re playing every week, some performances aren’t at the highest level. You see top teams do that, they don’t play well every week but still they get results.”