Man United 4 Norwich City 0: Shinji Kagawa’s hat-trick was ‘terrific’

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his delight at watching Shinji Kagawa’s hat-trick fire Manchester United to victory over Norwich City.

The Japan international opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time when his volley beat Mark Bunn, and the 23-year-old added two to his tally after the break to put the hosts 3-0 up.

Wayne Rooney then capped an impressive win for Ferguson’s men with a superb fourth – but Ferguson singled out Kagawa for special praise after he became the first Asian player to net a Premier League hat-trick.

“He [Kagawa] is a good finisher,” Ferguson told BBC Sport. “His injury in October and November set him back a bit, but he’s getting his form back slowly and gradually. His second and third, in particular, were terrific.

“He’s going to be a good player. Next year he’ll be far, far better.”

Ferguson also explained his decision to leave Ryan Giggs out of his matchday squad, saying that the Welshman is set to make his 1000th senior appearance against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

He said: “Ryan Giggs will be involved against Real Madrid, no doubt about it. It’s a great moment, a great example for all young players to reach 1,000 games as a professional.”

Manchester United now have a 15-point lead over Manchester City, who travel to Aston Villa on Monday night.

But Ferguson expects Roberto Mancini’s men to claim all three points at Villa Park. He added: “We’ve got a cushion, I expect City to win on Monday against Villa.”