MU ‘s series of 3 consecutive defeats ended after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley in round 6 of the Premier League with the only goal at the end of the first half from captain Bruno Fernandes.
Manchester United looked significantly more resilient against Burnley than they did in their 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Burnley started the match better than Manchester United. Coach Vicent Kompany’s team controlled the match and created many opportunities. Zeki Amdouni had a header that forced goalkeeper Andre Onana to show his talent to block.
Captain Bruno Fernandes shined at the right time to bring 3 points to MU
While the home team created a solid position and felt like a goal could come to them at any time, MU “delivered the finishing blow” to the match. Jonny Evans found Bruno Fernandes with a perfect pass and the Portuguese international unleashed a decisive volley in the style of Robin Van Persie or Cristiano Ronaldo, giving goalkeeper James Trafford no chance to save.
Over the years, many people considered the away match against Burnley a “physical battle”, a match where you could leave with a bruised body. Burnley have enough skill and explosiveness to defeat their opponents with their football.
And Burnley proved this against MU, except that they could score goals. The last notable highlight of the match was Sofyan Amrabat being brought onto the field by coach Erik Ten Hag at the end of the match to make his MU debut. However, with only a few short minutes on the field, the Moroccan midfielder has not yet shown his full potential.
MU broke a 3-match losing streak after winning against Burnley
Below are 5 notable points after Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Burnley in round 6 of the Premier League:
1- Leader Bruno Fernandes
On nights like this when MU plays away from home, they need big players to stand up and shine. Captain Bruno Fernandes did just that with a wonderful goal in the first half. This was a match where the attackers of both teams played lacklusterly.
But Bruno Fernandes proved the difference and ended MU’s losing streak with the only goal of the classy match. This victory helps reduce the pressure on everyone at Old Trafford.
Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes has proven many times that he can decide a match. Now, a victory, in any way or by any score, is more than enough for MU.
Bruno Fernandes’s volley scored the only goal of the match.
2- Jonny Evans starts and shines
In September 2023, eight years after his last match for MU, Jonny Evans started just one Premier League match for the “red devils”. It shows how much MU’s position has declined, although it does not mean a lack of respect for Evans.
MU was forced to reuse the player they pushed away in 2015. Before the match, coach Erik Ten Hag defended his decision to name Evans in the MU starting lineup and implied that he was forced to do so due to injury. injured by Lisandro Martinez.
“Martinez is injured. He had problems in the spring and now he has another injury. We have to do it (select Evans) with the players available,” shared Erik Ten Hag.
Evans had his first starting match for MU in more than 8 years.
In his 200th match for MU, Evans had a header against Burnley, but unfortunately, the goal was not recognized because Rasmus Hojlund was in an offside position beforehand. After that, it was Evans who created the goal for MU, he found Fernandes with a pass of perfect quality, and the Portuguese international finished excellently.
3- Suffering from injury
Erik Ten Hag doesn’t have the best names in MU’s back four, with Martinez, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bisska all having to sit out due to injury. The Dutch strategist had to come up with a temporary plan to patch up the “red devils” defense.
MU’s back four in the match against Burnley were Evans, Victor Lindelof, Sergio Reguilon and Diogo Dalot. Fans mocked MU’s squad before the match. One fan took to social media to comment: “Worst lineup I’ve ever seen in my life.” Another described: “Embarrassing and disgraceful lineup.”
Ten Hag must rely on Lindelof’s ability to command the defense.
Notably, in MU’s 3 previous losses, goalkeeper Andre Onana had 10 goals in the net to pick up the ball. With a “second-class” defense, MU again kept a clean net. In return for a solid defense is a deadlocked attack from Erik Ten Hag’s army.
MU’s offense seemed to have run out of ideas early on and lacked the necessary creativity. MU’s only big breakthrough came from Evans’ superb pass from midfield and Bruno Fernandes’ classic finish. It was an extremely impressive goal, but it will be difficult for MU to advance if it continues to play like this.
4- Bright spot for Kompany from Burnley’s defeat
Burnley come into this match without a win in the Premier League. After the match with MU, they still did not win. But coach Kompany can see many positive things from the home team’s performance.
Kompany still has time to help Burnley escape the crisis.
Kompany’s team got off to a better start, dominating ball control and creating clearer opportunities than the away team MU. There was an overwhelming sense of fairness after Evans’ goal was ruled out by VAR.
Currently, Burnley is considered the biggest candidate for relegation, but Kompany’s team has too much technical talent to stay in the Premier League at the end of the season. Players like Ramsey, Amdouni, Luca Koleosho and Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye all make it difficult for MU to deal with.
The problem is that Burnley needs to turn the moment they play better than their opponents into goals. Burnley’s lack of a prolific scorer is the biggest problem, at least until they strengthen in the January transfer window.
5- The appearance of rookie Amrabat
Another detail is also very noteworthy in this match. In the 89th minute of the match, coach Erik Ten Hag decided to send rookie Sofyan Amrabat to replace Jonny Evans. Thus, the Moroccan midfielder has officially started the 2023/24 campaign with his new team.
A few minutes of Amrabat’s presence cannot say anything, but this is clearly a necessary addition for MU. From the beginning of the season, Casemiro alone appeared to be exhausted in the task of taking charge of the “Red Devils” midfield. If Casemiro and Amrabat can play together well, MU’s ability to defend from afar promises to improve.