Manchester United vs Burnley Player Ratings
Six wins out of six. That was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record coming into the match against Burnley. Beat the Clarets and it would read first 7 matches, played 7, won 7, a record no other manager in the history of the Premier League holds. But then again, this is the Premier League and this match showed why it is the toughest league on the planet.
After beating Spurs and Arsenal in recent weeks, maybe the team had got complacent thinking that Burnley can be steamrolled at Old Trafford. But Burnley have had a history with United. Remember that very first game of the 2009-10 season when three-time defending English Champions were at the receiving end of a shocking 1-0 loss at Turf Moor? Burnley have been United's bogey team and their record at Old Trafford proves the point. United have played them thrice at Old Trafford in three years and got a whole sum of three measly points out of those games.
It needed a sparkling comeback from Mourinho's men last season on Boxing Day to salvage a point and now an equally impressive comeback was needed again from Ole's man to save the embarrassment of losing to Burnley at Old Trafford.
Starting XI
Player Ratings
David De Gea(GK): 7/10
De Gea made some regular saves in the first half but could do nothing with both the goals as he was let down by his teammates. As usual, he was good with the ball at his feet and good in distributing the ball too.
Ashley Young(RB): 4/10
Ashley Young had a complete stinker of a game on Tuesday. He didn't have to do much in the defence but good crosses were expected off him to break down Burnley's defence and he failed to provide any. Throughout the night, he got into great crossing positions but his final ball let him down. His balls either hit the first defender or found Burnley heads inside the box. Finally, on the 92nd minute, he did manage to pull off one good cross which lead to Lindelof's equalizer but a team like United should have more quality in the right back position.
Phil Jones(CB): 5/10
Phil Jones gave yet another typical Phil Jones performance. Sloppy in passing and a suspect in possession, the English international was bullied badly by the likes of Wood and Barnes. It was his poor marking that left Chris Wood free in the six-yard box for Burnley's second goal.
Victor Lindelof(CB): 9/10
Victor Lindelof was a troubled man in the season of 2017-18. Apart from a few decent games, he struggled to get into the side and even when he did, he struggled to cope with the physicality of the Premier League. But Lindelof of 2018-19 has been an absolute beast. He is certainly one of the strong contenders for player of the season as he was immense under Mourinho and has been immense under Ole as well. Finally, he got his first United goal at a crucial time. Winter is coming and our Iceman is here to protect us from it.
Luke Shaw(LB): 7/10
Coming back into the side after missing the last Premier League game due to illness, Shaw was reliable once again. He fizzed some really dangerous balls into the box but United's attackers failed to capitalize. Shaw held his fort at the back as well and blocked several crosses from Burnley's right-hand side.
Nemanja Matic(CDM): 9/10
Matic showed to his doubters again why he is a two-time Premier League winner and why he is still one of the best defensive midfielders in the country. He was everywhere on the pitch; tackling, passing, crossing, recovering the ball, shooting, almost everything. Remember that Sir Alex's quote on Roy Keane's unreal performance in Turin in 1999 about him covering every blade of grass and playing like his life depended on it? Maybe this game wasn't that important or the opponents that illustrious, but that quote could very well apply on Matic for this performance.
Paul Pogba(LCM): 6/10
Pogba has been the focal point of Ole's United as the Norwegian has built his side around the World Cup-winning Frenchman but against Burnley, United's #6 was left frustrated. He was heavily involved in the attacks but was at times plain unlucky that things didn't fall his way. But with three minutes remaining, he kept his cool and dispatched the penalty that ultimately led to United clawing back one point.
Andreas Pereira(RCM): 0/10
United have had a quite rough time since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013. During these times, fans have seen some truly diabolical performances from the team and even some dreadful ones from certain players. But this game from Pereira was so deplorable that it would top all of those disgraceful performances. It was so bad that United would have been better off with 10 men rather than playing Pereira in the midfield. He lost the ball 14 times in his 60 minutes on the pitch, the most notable one being when he lost possession 20 yards, gifting a goal to Burnley.
Pereira has been a player who has been overhyped by a deluded United fanbase on the basis of his one free kick in the preseason. A lot of them slated Mourinho for not starting him over Matic as a CDM. The truth is Periera is a below average player who struggled to get into relegated Granada side of 2016-17 and Valencia of 2017-18 during his loan spells. Great managers like LvG & Mourinho knew this and now, after seeing him getting bullied by the likes of Reading and Burnley, it is quite apparent to the whole world.
Marcus Rashford(LW): 4/10
Rashford has been in some fiery form under Ole where he has been brimming with confidence. But the Manchester-born striker missed a simplest of all finishes after being set up by Lukaku midway through the first half. In the latter stages of the second half, when United started hoofing the crosses into the box, he didn't have any chance at all against the likes of Mee and Tarkowski. An off day indeed for Marcus.
Juan Mata(RW): 4/10
Mata was included in the side in place of Lingard and it was expected that his vision and slick passing would help United unlock the Clarets defence. However the Spaniard failed to do so. He huffed and puffed for 90 minutes as his through balls, crosses and shots led to nothing.
Romelu Lukaku(ST): 5/10
Martial was injured so Lukaku got a chance to play through the middle and Rashford was sent on the left. The Belgian, who was one of the stars in the mind-blowing 3-1 win over Arsenal, failed to get anything in the game. Ole had included him for his physicality as he had bullied his way to two goals earlier this season at Turf Moor. He did set up Rashford brilliantly in the first half but apart from that didn't have anything to show for. The lack of quality crosses also didn't help his cause and was subsequently subbed off for Sanchez on the 70th minute.
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