3 Talking points from Man United’s 2-0 win vs Burnley
Manchester United secured their first clean sheet this campaign and were able to recover from two consecutive defeats to win 2-0 at Burnley on Sunday.
The Red Devils dominated from the off and were rewarded in the 27th minute when Romelu Lukaku headed home after being picked out by Alexis Sanchez’s pin-point cross.
Lukaku was in the act again for the visitors, seizing a loose ball following a scramble in the box before smashing the ball into the net to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead just before the break.
However, Jose Mourinho’s men simply failed to kill the game. Paul Pogba missed a penalty and that was followed by substitute Marcus Rashford’s dismissal.
Rashford’s sending off gave Burnley a glimmer of hope but United held on at Turf Moor. Here are the three things we learned from the encounter at Turf Moor.
Mourinho’s tactics were spot on
Much was spoken about how United would cope with Burnley’s giant forwards ahead of the game. The pressure was on Mourinho and all credits to him as he got his tactics absolutely spot on.
The Portuguese went for his tried and tested players, starting Nemanja Matic and Marouane Fellaini in the midfield alongside Paul Pogba. Matic and Pogba were given a free role but Fellaini was surprisingly given the holding midfielder’s role, which the big Belgian carried out magnificently.
Fellaini’s eyebrow-raising inclusion gave United the stability in the defence as well as in the midfield, guiding United to three points against Burnley.
Lukaku shows his quality
Lukaku came under a lot of fire against Tottenham for his first-half open goal miss with the score at 0-0. Had the Belgian tucked that home, it would have been a very different game altogether on Monday.
At Turf Moor, however, Lukaku bounced back and put in a strong performance. Jesse Lingard and Alexis Sanchez’s link-up play created Lukaku’s goals, with the first being a direct assist from Sanchez while the second was a ruthless finish inside the box. The Belgian missed some chances in the second period, but he’s getting into the groove.
Burnley were poor
Burnley started the game on the back foot with United all over them inside the first 20-25 minutes. They were pegged back into their caves after United got a deserved 2-0 lead at the break.
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While the Clarets were quick to try and pressurise United after Rashford’s sending off, Sean Dyche’s men rarely tested United goalkeeper David De Gea despite having an extra man. Burnley failed in their link-up play, created very little opportunities and never gave the visitors a real scare on the afternoon.
Dyche will be thoroughly disappointed with the loss to United at home.