Premier League 2017-18: Burnley 0-1 Manchester United; Player ratings

In a hard fought game between two top-half sides, it was Manchester United who came out the victors against a determined Burnley outfit. The game did not offer too much goal-mouth action for the neutral to enjoy as Anthony Martial's winning goal was one of only four shots on target in the entire game.

Let us have a look at how the players fared from each side.

Burnley

Nick Pope: 6/10

The Englishman had a quiet afternoon as only two of Manchester United's shots were on target. There was little he could have done to stop Martial's effort from finding its way into the back of the net.

Phil Bardsley: 5.5/10

Usually bombing down the right flank, Bardsley was surprisingly static down the right side of Burnley's defence. He did not seem as a mobile as he usually does for the Clarets and was content staying in his own half to deal with Young and Martial.

James Tarkowski: 7.5/10

Named the local sponsors' Man of the Match, Tarkowski was one of the few players that were on song for Burnley on the afternoon. He looked steadfast in the middle of the back four and was a constant thorn in Romelu Lukaku's side.

Ben Mee: 6.5/10

While Mee was equally crucial at the back as his partner, he often found himself on the wrong side of Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba when they made darting runs forward. He dealt with the attacking threats posed by the United players but got lucky on a number of occasions as it could have been a different outcome in another game.

Charlie Taylor: 6/10

Like Bardsley, Taylor offered little to nothing in the final third. Rather than taking advantage of the United wingers and drawing them out of position, Taylor preferred operating from a deeper role, letting the central midfielders drift into attacking positions.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson: 7/10

Gudmundsson gave the Clarets much-needed width and constantly pegged Ashley Young back who operated on the left side of United's defence. The Icelandic midfielder came extremely close to scoring through a free-kick in the second half, but his shot flew off the crossbar for a goal kick.

Steven Defour: 6.5/10

The Belgian distributed the ball from deeper positions with gusto and was the most involved Burnley player in the game - registering 83 touches. His passing accuracy was also north of the 80 percent mark as he gave the likes of Matic and Pogba a run for their money.

Jack Cork: 7/10

Much like Defour, Cork too was equally influential in the middle of the park. The duo ensured that would not surrender control of the midfield to the opposition and fought tooth and nail for every half ball to give their side the edge. Cork completed 53 passes all afternoon with an accuracy rate of 86.8 percent.

Scott Arfield: 6/10

The Canadian endured an afternoon to forget as he failed to pose any kind of offensive threat. Valencia had no qualms in dealing with him whenever the two came face to face, and all in all, Arfield's influence on the game was minimal.

Jeff Hendrick: 6.5/10

Playing as a No. 10 when the team had the ball and dropping deep when United dominated possession, Hendrick was one of Burnley's hardest working players of the day. He put in a terrific shift for the manager but failed to have any telling impact in the final third.

Ashley Barnes: 6/10

The English striker was isolated all game as the Burnley side hardly took any risks until the final few minutes of the contest. Barnes cut a frustrated figure in the final third due to the lack of chances set up for him and registered the least touches out of all the outfield players who had started the game.

Substitutes

Sam Vokes: 6/10

Vokes won a couple of aerial duels in the final third in the dying stages of the game and also had a half chance to head the ball home for a Burnley equaliser. Brought off the bench to create an impact and ruffle a few feathers, the Welshman succeed at it, but failed to test De Gea in the United goal.

Georges-Kevin N'koudou: 6.5/10

Making his home debut, the Frenchman, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, enjoyed a breathtaking cameo off the bench and nearly put his name on the scoresheet in the final few minutes of the game, but Valencia made a crucial block to send the ball out for a corner.

Nahki Wells: N/A

The Bermudian wasn't on the pitch long enough to make any assessments on.

Manchester United

David De Gea: 6/10

The Spaniard enjoyed a surprisingly quiet afternoon against the Clarets. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling kept the Burnley attackers at bay, leaving De Gea with nothing noteworthy to do. A clean sheet nonetheless for the Manchester United number one.

Antonio Valencia: 6.5/10

Antonio Valencia went on about his business quietly against Burnley. When called into the action, he was there at the right place at the right time, but his involvement in the offensive third was scarce.

Chris Smalling: 8.5/10

Arguably United's best player on the day, Chris Smalling put in a terrific shift in the defensive third for the Red Devils. He won a game-high 14 aerial duels and his tackling was equally impressive. Splendid display from the Englishman.

Phil Jones: 8/10

Proved to be the perfect partner to his compatriot Smalling at the heart of the back four. Much like the 28-year-old, Jones was also tidy at the back, making clearances and interceptions at crucial moments in the game, ensuring United kept a clean sheet.

Ashley Young: 7/10

Coming in for Luke Shaw, Young put in yet another terrific showing at left-back. He kept bursting forward when the team had the ball, linked up exceptionally with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, and gave the Burnley right-back Bardsley a number of problems to deal with.

Nemanja Matic: 6.5/10

The Serbian wasn't called into action too much in the middle of the park, particularly due to Sean Dyche's tactics of exploiting the wings. This saw Matic move slightly out of position to provide cover to the back four, and he did a decent job of it. However, he did misplace a few passes and his tackling wasn't at its best.

Paul Pogba: 7/10

While the Frenchman can and will be accused of being a tad selfish deep on in the second period when he could have teed up either Martial or Lukaku for the goal, Pogba's contributions throughout the game were exemplary yet again. He created three chances all afternoon, had four attempts on goal, and maintained a passing accuracy of 79 percent.

Jesse Lingard: 6/10

After enjoying the best month of his career in December, Lingard's performances have dwindled since the last two games, and he struggled against Burnley. Due to their bogged and structured shape, Lingard felt it extremely difficult to break free, express himself, and bring his teammates in the game.

Anthony Martial: 8.5/10

Martial scored the game's only goal and was United's deadliest attacking threat on the afternoon. Where Lukaku struggled to find himself in the right positions, Martial found himself in pockets of space in and around the 18-yard-area thereby giving the Burnley defenders nightmares throughout the game.

Juan Mata: 5.5/10

Much like Lingard, Mata had a rare quiet game. The Spaniard wasn't at the top of his game and it showed with the number of misplaced passes. He was brought off in the 71st minute and will definitely be disappointed with his performance.

Romelu Lukaku: 6.5/10

Barring the assist to Martial's goal, Lukaku did not particularly excel in any other aspect of the game, probably because of the two Burnley centre-backs playing extremely close to him. However, the Belgian struggled to break free off his shackles and often dropped deep or drifted out wide to be involved in the play.

Substitutes

Marouane Fellaini: 6.5/10

The Belgian came on as a substitute for Mata with the intention to boss the midfield and control proceedings for his team with his physical presence in the middle of the park. Fellaini did exactly that and freed up Pogba to be more expansive in the final quarter of the game.

Marcus Rashford: 6/10

Rashford played only 11 minutes of regulation time after coming on and did not make any contributions worth noting. He played off the right and did get the better of the Burnley defenders, but he failed to carve out goal-scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.

Ander Herrera: N/A

Hererra came on with seconds to go before the final whistle just with the purpose of running down the clock and only registered one touch in the contest.

Edited by Raunak J