Manchester United 0, Burnley 2
Manchester United were stung by two Burnley goals as they finally recorded a win over the Reds at the 10th attempt under Sean Dyche.
Embed from Getty ImagesBurnley punished flimsy defending by Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, and Nemanja Matic as they scored either side of half time through Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez to secure Burnley’s first win at Od Trafford since September 1962.
And the Reds were toothless in attack without the injured Marcus Rashford.
They were unable to properly test Nick Pope as they fired in a succession of tame shots during a game which was punctuated by aggressive chanting against United Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, and United’s owners, the Glazers.
Burnley defender Charlie Taylor survived a VAR check for a red card after a last man challenge on Mason Greenwood in the second half as the visitors committed to all out defence.
Luke Shaw thought he had pulled one back in the 90th minute when he headed in Juan Mata’s cross but VAR quickly ruled it out for a foul on Jeff Hendrick as there was no chance of another famous comeback for the third game in a row against the Clarets.
Old Trafford was already emptying quickly before Shaw’s effort was ruled out, and the stadium looked bleak by the time Jonathan Moss ended the misery.
Bizarrely, after such an abject performance, United remained in 5th place – a position they cannot bank on at the end of the season if they continue to play like that.
PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester United 0, Burnley 2
David De Gea: 5. Left exposed for both goals.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 6. Crosses ranged from improved to abysmal. Couldn’t get past Burnley’s defenders in the latter stages. Should have offered more protection when Burnley raided the right channel.
Phil Jones: 5. Barracked mercilessly by the Burnley crowd. In no man’s land when Ashley Westwood’s ball came in and didn’t get close to Chris Wood for Jay Rodriguez’ goal.
Harry Maguire: 5. Dawdling when both Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez scored.
Brandon Williams: 6. Helped out defensively when Wan-Bissaka ranged forward but was wasteful going forward.
Fred: 6. Some energy but quickly slumped as he sat deeper in the second half.
Nemanja Matic: 5. Beaten in the air by Ben Mee for Burnley’s goal.
Andreas Pereira: 4. Very Poor. Sacrificed at half time for Mason Greenwood.
Juan Mata: 6. Some incisive passing in the first half but no end product as his team mates let him down. His sweet cross for Luke Shaw at the end was ruled out for a foul on Jeff Hendrick.
Daniel James: 6. Threatened with pace and had a shot tipped over in the first half.
Anthony Martial: 6. Thwarted by some good defending, resorted to long tame shots later which couldn’t beat Nick Pope.
Mason Greenwood (on for Andreas Pereira, 46): 6. Ineffective as a right winger. Won a dangerous free kick when he moved centrally when Charlie Taylor could have been sent off for obstruction.
Jesse Lingard (on for Daniel James, 69): 5. No danger.
Luke Shaw (on Brandon Williams, 69): 6. Stayed upfield, thought he had scored a header in the 90th minute to set up a massive finale but was deflated when VAR ruled he had fouled Jeff Hendrick to reach Juan Mata;s cross.
GOALS – Manchester United 0, Burnley 2
Man Utd 0, Burnley 1: 39. Ashley Westwood’s free kick was nodded on by Ben Mee and Chris Wood stabbed it home past David De Gea
Man Utd 0, Burnley 2: 56. Jay Rodriguez exchanged passes with Chris Wood, who left Phil Jones for dead, before hammering the ball into the roof of the net with David De Gea totally exposed and Harry Maguire trailing in his wake
MATCH STATS – Manchester United 0, Burnley 2
Man Utd: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Jones, Maguire, Williams (Shaw 69), Fred, Matic, Pereira (Greenwood 46), Mata, James (Lingard 69), Martial
Man Utd Subs not used: Romero, Bailly, Dalot, Gomes
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Wood, Rodriguez
Burnley Subs: Hart, Brady, Pieters, Lennon, Vydra, Long, Goodridge
Booking: Taylor 67 (obstructing Mason Greenwood)
Goals: Wood 39; Rodriguez 56
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Attendance: 73,198