Norwich City boss Chris Hughton offered a sober reflection of Saturday’s defeat at the hands of the Premier League’s champions-elect.

An efficient hat-trick from Shinji Kagawa and Wayne Rooney’s sublime curler saw Manchester United extend their lead at the summit to 15 points, while the Canaries’ precious win over Everton seven days earlier ensured it was only their pride damaged at Old Trafford.

“This game here was never going to define our season,” said Hughton. “There is only one team that has come here and won all season and that’s Tottenham, and they are in the top four.

“It was always a tough ask coming here. Anything you get is always a bonus and probably for a decent period we stuck in there and made them really work for the win.

“My feeling after Everton was if we had lost that and then had to come here and not got anything, it would have been lot tougher. But we have to respect where we are.

“United are flying at the top of the division and playing a Champions League game on Tuesday, and one mark of respect I’d like to think was the team they put out today.

“Rooney, Van Persie, Carrick; they were all playing and that was perhaps testament to how they wanted to treat this game.”