De Gea’s Man Utd turnaround complete as Ronaldo eclipsed in Norwich win
Robin Bairner
- 11 Dec 2021 13:48 CST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo will be remembered in the history books as Manchester United’s match winner against Norwich in Saturday’s 1-0 win, but the ongoing excellence of David de Gea contributed just as much to a victory that puts Ralf Rangnick’s side within touching distance of the top four.
Man Utd’s award might have been a soft one as Max Aarons inadvisably made contact Ronaldo in the box, inviting the experienced forward to go to ground, but ultimately it was a justifiable one.
From the spot, Ronaldo, just as Mohamed Salah and Jorginho had for fellow Premier League giants Liverpool and Chelsea earlier in the day, made no mistake when it mattered.
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De Gea, though, was the man who won the three points.
With Norwich pushing for an equaliser, the Spain international twice made exceptional saves to protect the lead.
First, he thwarted Pierre Lees-Melou as the Frenchman headed forcefully downwards, then it was former Liverpool loanee Ozan Kabak’s turn to be frustrated in injury time at the end of the game.
While there was a suggestion of offside on that second attempt, had it gone it, the goal would have stood given that Ronaldo made deliberate contact with the ball on the way through to the centre-back. De Gea had to be present for his side and he was.
It was a measure of how Man Utd struggled that they were clinging on against the side that props up the Premier League table.
1903 - Ralf Rangnick is the second Manchester United manager to register a clean sheet in his first two league games in charge of the club after Ernest Mangnall in 1903. Spotlight. pic.twitter.com/IcjmVNUDWu
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 11, 2021
And though Ronaldo might have got the winner, he did little to answer questions over his long-term future under Rangnick. For long periods of the match, he was little more than a bystander.
It was a telling show of faith, though, that when Man Utd were chasing the opening goal, Rangnick elected to withdraw Jadon Sancho instead of the peripheral Portuguese. Ultimately, it was a decision that was crucial to the win.
De Gea’s transformation is complete at Man Utd, meanwhile. He has gone from a player who had lost the No.1 spot in the summer to Dean Henderson to the undisputed top dog in that role. Indeed, the England keeper appears on his way out in January.
Rangnick can ultimately look at the win over Norwich as one in which he got the big calls correct, but he will appreciate that while Ronaldo got the winning goal, De Gea was the key man.
