Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata help Manchester United win first match under new manager Ryan Giggs

RYAN Giggs’s first match as Manchester United manager ended in a thrashing of Norwich thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata.

RYAN Giggs’s first match as interim Manchester United manager ended in a 4-0 thrashing of Premier League strugglers Norwich City at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney and substitute Juan Mata scored two goals apiece as the soon-to-be-dethroned English champions left the Canaries just a point above the relegation zone with two games remaining.

Giggs, who decided against naming himself in the starting side or on the bench, saw Rooney give United the lead with a 41st-minute penalty after Danny Welbeck went down in the box.

England striker Rooney made it 2-0 seven minutes after the break with a curling shot from outside the box as Norwich’s defence backed off.

News_Rich_Media: Ryan Giggs' first match in charge of Manchester United was all smooth sailing as the Red Devils overpowered Norwich 4-0 at Old Trafford.

Mata put the result beyond doubt in the 63rd minute when he turned in Phil Jones’s cross before adding a second goal 10 minutes later as Norwich retreated again.

“I enjoyed it,” Giggs told Sky Sports. “Four-nil is a dream day for us, I’m really pleased with the performance.

“I reminded the players the tempo needed to be quicker at half-time and they reacted well to that.

“I didn’t sleep last night. Leaving the likes of Juan Mata out of the starting XI was difficult and a position I’ve never been in before. I’m also one of their teammates.

News_Image_File: Ryan Giggs showed he still had the skills despite wearing the suit.

“You saw the reaction of Juan, he’s a true pro.” United great Giggs was put in caretaker charge for the final four games of the season when former manager David Moyes was sacked on Tuesday.

Moyes was dismissed just 10 months after replacing the retired Alex Ferguson following a 2-0 defeat by Everton — his former club — made it mathematically impossible for United to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

News_Rich_Media: Review all 17 goals from Saturday's action in round 36 of the Barclays Premier League.

Having joked on Friday he would award himself a new five-year playing contract, Giggs denied himself a 963rd United appearance.

Watching from the sidelines in a club suit, Giggs ensured the team provided the cathartic experience desired by all at Old Trafford nearing the end of this season of unparalleled inferiority and disorder at United in the Premier League era.

News_Rich_Media: Manchester United interim manager Ryan Giggs admits he had a sleepless night ahead of his managerial debut but relished the opportunity to step into the role with a win.

Although there was never a mutinous atmosphere even in the lowest points of Moyes’ ill-fated reign, there has not been this much joy inside the ground for some time, supporters cheering loudly as Giggs emerged from the tunnel before kick-off. Fans inside the Theatre of Dreams will start dreaming again of a brighter future.

As if to emphasise the extent of the club moving on after Moyes, it came with Saturday’s start.

Marouane Fellaini, the overpriced 27.5 million-pound ($46 million) midfield signing which defined Moyes’ reign, didn’t even make the bench and Mata, the club’s record 37.1 million-pound ($62 million) signing in January, was dropped from the starting line-up. Talented teenager Adnan Januzaj, who broke into the first team under Moyes, wasn’t in the match-day squad.

News_Image_File: Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring his second goal.

The pre-match message by Giggs to the team was: entertain, attack, play with a tempo. But it was listless for much of the first half against a well-drilled Norwich side. It took more than 10 minutes for United striker Danny Welbeck to test goalkeeper John Ruddy.

“Giggs will tear us apart,” the fans chanted.

News_Image_File: Some Manchester United fans showed a strong sense of irony.

Instead of patrolling the technical area, how United needed the Giggs of old to liven up an initial drab display. Attracting more interest were the skies where a plane with a “Thank u Moyes” streaking behind it emerged — weeks after a publicity-seeking group of fans sent a “Moyes out” banner over the ground.

While Norwich lacked adventure going forward, United was thwarted again by goalkeeper John Ruddy, who blocked Antonio Valencia’s powerful strike.

The breakthrough came after referee Lee Probert decided that Steven Whittaker’s contact before Welbeck fell merited a penalty.

Rooney scored from the penalty spot in the 41st minute to lift the atmosphere before half-time, and he was on target again inside three minutes of the second half. The England striker drifted in from the left unchallenged before unleashing a shot into the bottom corner of the net while slipping.

News_Image_File: Juan Mata (R) scored twice after coming off the bench.

Norwich only managed its first shot on target in the 59th, with Roberto Snodgrass’ free kick pushed away by goalkeeper David de Gea.

But United was cruising by this point — after Mata’s arrival from the bench ensured the victory was even more convincing.

The Spain midfielder scored inside three minutes. It started with Rooney’s long-range strike being parried by Ruddy, Valencia retrieved the ball, cut it back to Phil Jones and Mata completed the move by scoring in the 63rd. Mata nodded another over the line 10 minutes later after Valencia met Patrice Evra’s cross with a volley.