Three Things We Learned From Manchester United’s 3-1 Win Over Burnley – Rooney Is Wasted In Central Midfield

A brace from Chris Smalling and a penalty from Robin Van Persie was enough for the Red Devils to move into third place in the Premier League. Smalling, who was a first-half substitute for the injured Phil Jones scored with his first touch. Although Burnley leveled the game soon afterwards thanks to Danny Ings, they found it difficult to capitalise on their advantage in the first half.

They were made to pay for their inability to take advantage when Angel Di Maria was brought down in the box for United’s first penalty of the season. Van Persie stepped up and made no mistake as he calmly slotted home his second goal of the year to give his side all three points on a day in which they scarcely deserve it. Here are the major talking points from the game.

Rooney is wasted in central midfield

Versatility is a key asset in football and it is one that Louis Van Gaal seems to covet. When he is not trying to prove that his side aren’t a long ball side, the Dutchman is busy trying to show the world that you don’t need a defense to finish in the top four and reinvent Total football, United style. One of the things that has required is for the club’s premier goal scorer, Wayne Rooney to play in midfield, sometimes as a central midfielder, sometimes as a defensive midfielder and at other times as an auxiliary right winger.

Of all the statistics that highlight how poor United were and how lucky they were to get a win, there is one stat that is particularly striking. Following his brace, Smalling is now United’s joint-highest scorer in the calendar year, while Rooney, hasn’t had a single shot on target in 2015. While there is no doubt that the Englishman can spread the play, spray passes around the park and make tackles, his goal scoring threat is completely removed when he plays in midfield, especially as a defensive midfielder as he did against Burnley. Considering that United aren’t scoring freely at the moment, the Dutchman might be better advised to play his captain, in his preferred role as a striker, so as to get the best out of him.

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Set pieces continue to be Burnley’s Achilles heel

Given Burnley’s dominance in the first half, it was surprising that they went into the break behind. But they did, because of their Achilles heel coming back to haunt them. No team has conceded more headed goals (16) than the Clarets this season and when they concede two goals from corner kicks, against a United side, who aren’t especially prolific in the air, you can see why they are near the bottom of the league.

While the gulf in class and the quality between the two sides was apparent before the game, the game itself was one that was dominated by the visitors. Given the amount of chances that they created in the first half, they should have at least went into the interval with a slender lead. Instead, they went in, behind and it was two silly errors in set pieces that cost them a possible point at Old Trafford.

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Smalling struggles even when he shines

It is not often that a centre back scores a brace in a game. That is an even lesser possibility, when the player has come on as a substitute, albeit in the first half. But you would struggle to find another occasion when a player has scored two goals but is still likely to be criticized after the game. But that is precisely what happened with Smalling as the Englishman had a curious game against Burnley.

Although he scored with his first touch after coming on for Jones from a corner kick and added his first brace for the club before half time, it is fair to say that he had his fair share of defensive deficiencies as well. The centre back lost Ings for the Burnley goal and on more than one occasion, made a hash of the ball into the box and looked out of sorts, especially when it came to defending crosses and high balls.

Although he came out of defensive well and was clinical in the opposing penalty area, it was in his own area, that his faults were highlighted perfectly.