Rooney makes mistake, Man Utd leaves top 4

Man Utd continued to sink into crisis with a 1-2 defeat to Norwich at Old Trafford.

Rooney returned but contributed to Man Utd's loss. Photo: Reuters.

Man Utd dominated possession but Norwich showed the home team's sharpness to finish off their opponents. Norwich opened the scoring late in the first half after a quick counter-attack and Cameron Jerome finished.

In the second half, Man Utd struggled to find a way into Norwich's goal when Rooney made another mistake, helping Norwich double the gap. The Man Utd captain lost the ball in the middle of the field before Alexander Tettey defeated De Gea.

Man Utd's efforts only brought about a 1-2 equalizer from Anthony Martial.

The defeat to Norwich left Man Utd out of the Premier League's top four. Man Utd have the same 29 points as Tottenham but are surpassed by their opponents on goal difference. Coach Van Gaal's team is nine points behind leaders Leicester.

Norwich, meanwhile, have moved clear of the relegation zone, having played one game more than Swansea and Newcastle. The win at Old Trafford also ended an 11-year run without a win over Man Utd.

Norwich have ended their decade-long streak of not winning against Man Utd. Photo: Reuters.

Before the match started, Man Utd had gone through five consecutive draws and losses in all competitions. Returning to Old Trafford with the appearance of captain Rooney made fans confident of victory against Norwich, a team that was sinking at the bottom of the table.

However, the higher the hopes, the greater the disappointment. Old Trafford witnessed a terrible performance from Rooney on the day he reached the milestone of 500 appearances for Man Utd. Rooney had a ball in the net of Norwich but it was not recognized, along with a few harmless finishing situations. Rooney's biggest mark was the situation of losing the ball to Norwich to increase the score to 2-0.

Van Gaal's disappointed face has become familiar every time Man Utd plays. Photo: Reuters.

Van Gaal's departure and Mourinho's arrival will be the highlight story after this match. The past week has seen Mourinho's departure after a series of bad results at Chelsea. Coach Van Gaal's situation at the moment is not as dire as his Portuguese counterpart, but he is pushing the patience of Man Utd fans to the limit. At the beginning of the season, Man Utd, despite not playing impressively, still achieved good results, but now that everything is going downhill, Van Gaal has nothing left to hold on to.

Man Utd continued to play slow football, controlling the ball a lot but failing to score goals. Rays of light like Martial were not enough to carry the team as Man Utd's problem was the stagnation of the entire system.

The last time United went six games without a win in all competitions was in 1998, when they won the Treble. That is unlikely to happen again this season, as they have been eliminated from the Champions League, and it is hard to believe that United can compete in the Premier League if they stick to their current style of play.

The next period will see Man Utd climb a difficult mountain during Christmas and New Year. Starting with the away trip to Stoke before hosting Chelsea and Swansea, both teams show signs of revival after changing managers.

According to VNE