Man Utd 1 Burnley 1
Having almost fallen foul of an FA Cup giant-killing last weekend, Man Utd welcomed Burnley to Old Trafford. With The Clarets desperate for points as they looked to battle relegation, the Red Devils were hoping they could stick the knife in with a convincing win.
Despite the promises of turning the corner all season, this Man Utd team look disjointed and out of sorts still. There appears to be no chemistry or vision on how the manager wants his side to play. Nobody would be surprised to see ten Hag given the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line from Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Burnley had the first chance when Fofana worked some room to get a shot off at goal. Sadly for Vincent Kompany’s side his effort lacked any real pace or the conviction that was needed to beat Onana in the hosts’ goal.
Fernandes then played a clever ball into the back post but Garnacho wildly struck his shot wide of the goal. Despite his ‘goal of the season’ contender at Goodison Park, the Argentine youngster has struggled to score goals with any consistency for United.
Credit: @ManUtd
He turned creator when he laid it into the path of Eriksen. He shot for the far post and his effort narrowly missed the goal with the Burnley keeper rooted to the spot. Man Utd were starting to ask more questions of The Clarets’ defence.
As Hojlund laid the ball off to Fernandes in the box, the Red Devils’ skipper fired a shot off from a tight angle. He struck it with such ferocity that it smacked against the post before the keeper had any time to react to the effort.
Burnley swung a free kick into the box and a wayward shot was directed towards goal by Foster. Onana reacted brilliantly to make a one-handed save to deny the visitors. Considering the pace it came at him, it truly was a fantastic reaction by the much-maligned keeper.
Cullen then won the ball from Mainoo and slotted in Foster. Finding himself one-on-one with the keeper, the Burnley forward’s effort really lacked any conviction and was easily blocked by Onana. Kompany will be pleased with the chances his side were creating but worried by their wastefulness.
Into the second half and Garnacho did well beating his man and getting to the byline to cut it back to Antony. His effort at goal from five yards out was poor and made for an easy save for Muric. It was a big chance to break the deadlock at Old Trafford.
Moments later Burnley hit the self-destruct button as a loose pass allowed Antony to run clean through on goal. He slotted his shot past the keeper into the far corner, giving Erik ten Hag’s side the lead with just over ten minutes of the game remaining.
Credit: @premierleague
As Kompany’s side looked to find a way back into the game, Onana came for a cross and wiped out Amdouni. The referee saw nothing wrong but fortunately VAR was there to intervene. After review, a penalty was awarded to the visitors.
The Burnley player picked himself up to take the penalty and calmly slotted home, sending Onana the wrong way in the process. Only time will tell but this could prove to be a vital point for The Clarets in their bid to stay in the Premier League.
Man Utd had the chance to win the game in added time but as a free kick was whipped in, Casemiro’s header was well saved by Muric. The visitors went down the other end and Odobert almost scored but Onana blocked at the near post.
The points were shared and over the course of the game nobody could deny Burnley deserved something from this game. In the post-match interview, ten Hag declared his side to be one of the most dynamic teams in the Premier League. I’ll have some of what he is smoking.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.