Manchester United won 3-1 away at Norwich, our first Premier League victory since early September.
Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all scored goals, with the Canaries grabbing a late consolation through Onel Hernandez.
Results this weekend went our way, meaning we now sit in seventh position in the table. Panic over?
Here are five things we learned from the win…
Penalties a bigger problem than we realised
That is now four penalties Manchester United have missed this season.
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial both missed in the first half against Norwich, to add to misses from Rashford and Paul Pogba earlier in the season.
After Rashford’s miss, it had seemed Martial might be the man, after his spot kick against Partizan. Then he had one saved by Tim Krul too.
United can’t afford for this to carry on. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to get his strikers in for extra penalty practice.
McTominay gets better and better
The way Scott McTominay seized on a loose ball to instinctively score United’s opener was impressive.
United’s midfield has lacked a punch this season and we needed a player to step up.
McTominay has been probably our most consistent player this season and he is getting more and more comfortable contributing in attack.
Scoring first is invaluable for this United side. McTominay’s all round game was one of a player growing in confidence.
The only blot on his day was giving the ball away late in the game, leading to Norwich’s consolation goal.
Dan James on the right is worth persisting with
It had seemed earlier in the season than Dan James may be more effective on the left wing. His versatility is proving useful.
With Anthony Martial returning, Marcus Rashford is back to possibly his best position on the left, and James gave us good balance on the right.
His pass for Rashford’s goal was excellent, and he now has two assists in his last two Premier League starts, both from the right.
At the moment, United should stick with James on the right. It seems to be working.
Ashley Young’s time is expiring
One player who did not impress was Ashley Young. And not for the first time.
He was given the run-around by Norwich’s impressive young right-back Max Aarons.
Young was only in the team because Solskjaer had doubts about starting Brandon Williams twice in four days, with a midweek game on the horizon.
It’s pretty clear that Young’s time as a first team option, even as a back-up, is expiring. There are better options.
Moving on
United snapped two unwanted records in this game, and its about time.
This was our first away league win of the season. Our previous away victory before this week came back in March. Now we have two in a row, with victories at Partizan and Norwich.
This was also the first time United have scored more than one goal in a game since the opening day of the season.
It’s fair to question how poor Norwich were, but something might finally be clicking at United.
Key players Anthony Martial and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have returned from injury, and it makes such a big difference.
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