Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to secure a 3-2 victory for Manchester United over Norwich City in the English Premier League. The Portuguese international scored his second hat-trick since returning to Old Trafford at the start of the season.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines
* defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
How many passes were attempted into the opposition’s final third by Manchester United players? Which Norwich City player made the most number of recoveries inside the opposition’s half?
To navigate the stats gallery, simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.
The home team played in an attacking formation of 4-3-3. Paul Pogba played in the heart of the midfield, and the manager started four attacking players alongside the striker.
The average position of the starting XI shows that the home team played in a 4-1-2-3 formation, with Jesse Lingard and Bruno Fernandes playing behind the striker.
Norwich City started in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Teemu Pukki leading the attack.
Norwich City were forced to defend for most parts of the match, and the average position of some of their players was within their half. The manager made like-to-like changes in the team.
The home team had 59% of the ball possession and created 41 positional attacks. Norwich City were more dangerous on the count, and the Canaries created eight counterattacks. Manchester United players attempted 82 passes into the opposition’s final third and 27 passes into the penalty area.
Cristiano Ronaldo attempted the most shots and created the highest xG in the match. He also won two aerial duels in the match. Pierre Lees-Melou made the highest number of recoveries inside the opposition’s half for the away team.
The Red Devils attempted 20 shots, and nine were on target. Of these 20 shots, 12 were attempted from inside the opposition’s penalty box, with five of them being on target.
The Canaries attempted 15 shots, eight of them from inside the opposition’s penalty box. They managed to hit the target four times, and one of the goals was scored from inside the opposition’s 6-yard box.
The xT timeline shows that Manchester United created the early threats, but Norwich City came back towards the end of the first half. The home team created more threats towards the start of the first half, but it was Norwich City who created more threats towards the end of the match.
Bruno Fernandes attempted the highest number of passes in the game. The Portuguese attempted 81 passes, nine each towards Alex Telles, Diogo Dalot, and Paul Pogba.
Mathias Normann attempted 50 passes for the Canaries, and ten were towards Ben Gibson. The midfielder was also on the receiving end of most passes.
Jadon Sancho attempted 57 passes, and these included four crosses and smart passes each. Of these 57 passes, 11 landed inside the opposition’s 18-yard box. Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles, and Bruno Fernandes attempted three crosses each.
Milot Rasicha was the highest crosser of the ball for the away side. The attacking midfielder attempted six crosses, and six of his passes landed inside the opposition’s 18-yard box.
The xT creation zone map shows that the home team attacked from all over the pitch. Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba created the highest threat from passes in the midfield.
Paul Pogba attempted the most dribbles in the match. The Frenchman attempted 11 dribbles but was unable to create many threats. Jadon Sancho created the highest threat with five attempted dribbles.
Norwich City players created fewer threats in the final third. Teemu Pukki created the highest threat rate with passes.
Milot Rashica attempted seven dribbles and created the highest threat from dribbles.
Ralf Rangnick’s men won five defensive duels in the defensive third. Alex Telles, Bruno Fernandes, and Anthony Elanga won three duels each.
The home team won most of their aerial duels in the final third, with Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo winning two duels each.
Manchester United players contested a few loose ball duels and most of them were inside the final third.
Norwich City players won eight defensive duels in the defensive third. Dimitrios Giannoulis contested 12 duels and won five.
The Canaries won five aerial duels in the final third. Ben Gibson and Mathias Normann won two duels each.
Grant Hanley and Dimitrios Giannoulis won two loose ball duels each for the away side.
Manchester United won six corners, four from the left side of the play. The home team won three free-kicks inside the opposition’s half.
Norwich City won seven corners, and only two were from the right side. The Canaries won three free-kicks inside the opposition’s half, and two free-kicks were attempted in the form of crosses inside the opposition’s penalty box.
The home team allowed Norwich City to cover their two-goal lead but left it late to grab all the three points in a five-goal thriller match.
If you want to download the stats report in PDF format you can do so here: Premier League Stats: Manchester United vs Norwich City