Manchester United vs. Norwich City: Manchester United Player Ratings

It's all a matter of perception.

For Manchester United, Saturday's 2-0 win over Norwich City must feel like business as usual. Nothing exciting. Not necessarily a great performance, but three points nonetheless.

For the rest of the Premier League, only word one is needed.

Infuriating.

United toiled. United labored. United, let's face it, played like poo.

Yet United won, and it wasn't even close.

Sure, Norwich had chances, but for all the times they found themselves in dangerous positions, the visitors never actually looked capable of scoring. Anthony Pilkington was at turns especially wasteful and desperately unlucky.

Manchester United, by contrast, was ruthlessly efficient. Sir Alex Ferguson's team created few chances in the second half but managed to score through Anderson's header and Danny Welbeck's tap-in.

That's all the Red Devils needed to get three points. No player distinguished himself on the pitch, but next spring, no one will remember the performance.

All we'll remember is that United earned three points.

Player ratings

Goalkeeper

Anders Lindegaard: 6.0

This rating is more of a default evaluation than anything else. Lindegaard didn't have much to do in a rare start ahead of David De Gea. Norwich had a few shots, but apart from a wicked deflection, Lindegaard was not beaten. He might have done better on the corner that gave Norwich a free header in the second half, though.

Defenders

Jonathan Evans: 5.5

Again, this is mostly a default rating. Evans and his center back partner Phil Jones struggled at times, especially with Steve Morison. United didn't concede.

Phil Jones: 5.5

See above.

Patrice Evra: 5.5

See above. Evra had a good cross in the second half but didn't distinguish himself in any other way. I forgot he was on the pitch most of the time.

Antonio Valencia: 5.0

Again, see above. Valencia got burned by Pilkington on the dribble early, so he gets marked down a little.

Midfielders

Ji-Sung Park: 5.0

Park looked uncomfortable playing in a creative role. As usual he worked hard and ran his socks off. But otherwise he was anonymous.

Anderson: 5.5

Anderson scored in the 68th minute with a header. Can anyone remember anything else he did?

Darren Fletcher: 5.5

Fletcher worked hard and contributed to the attack. Much like the rest of United's midfield, he turned in a muted performance.

Nani: 5.5

Nani looked dangerous at times but failed to impose himself on the game. He was subbed out in the 64th minute.

Forwards

Wayne Rooney: 6.0

Rooney seemed to be the only player pushing United to improve. He worked hard to get his teammates going. He set up the first goal.

Javier Hernandez: 5.0

Chicharito didn't play poorly. But he didn't play very well either. He's surely still feeling the effects of his recent injury layoff.

Substitutes

Ryan Giggs: 5.5

Giggs came on for Nani in the 64th minute and didn't change much about United's midfield.

Danny Welbeck: 6.5

Welbeck does nothing but score goals. That's his job, and he does it well.

Rio Ferdinand: 5.0

Ferdinand entered the match in the 77th minute and didn't have much of an impact. Norwich created chances after his introduction, but they did that the whole match.