Jose Mourinho's Manchester United racked up yet another impressive win and moved to just a point away from fourth-place Manchester City, who they’ll face at the Etihad on Thursday. A swift counter-attack saw Anthony Martial open the scoring for visitors, a lead, which was doubled by Wayne Rooney shortly before the culmination of the first half.
Burnley did not pose any major threat to David de Gea’s goal and a makeshift centre defensive partnership of Daley Blind and Eric Bailly saw United through. A game which saw Rooney and Martial making a successful return to the team, here are five things we learned from it.
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#1 Mourinho makes good use of Fellaini
Burnley, as usual, started with two at the front. Barnes and Andre Gray could have given a United defence of Bailly and Blind sleepless nights but Mourinho's ploy to make Fellaini shut Barnes down worked wonders. Both the United central defenders were too hot to handle for Gray alone and as a result, Burnley did not manage even a single shot on target.
As soon as the Burnley defenders booted the ball towards Barnes, the Belgian midfielder went all ‘Fellaini’ on the 27-year-old striker. While he did make a couple of fouls, Fellaini didn’t allow the striker to feed his fellow attacker in Gray and helped his team keep a clean sheet.
#2 Martial impresses in his audition
The Frenchman scored, what was Manchester United’s first goal at the Turf Moor, off a perfect counter attack, which he himself started. Trumping Joey Barton for the ball, Martial drove the ball forward from his own half and moved it on to Herrera. The Spaniard played back a carefully weighed one touch pass, which the forward slotted to the left of onrushing Tom Heaton.
Since United have lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the rest of the season, Martial and Rashford are the two players who are expected to share the no.9 position in his absence. With the latter already in good form, Mourinho presented Martial with a chance to impress and the Frenchman snatched it with both hands.
He had gone 10 matches without a goal in league and cup ties and this goal would do a world of good to the 21-year-old’s confidence.
#3 United score against Heaton after 42 shots this season
When Burnley visited Old Trafford earlier this season, the Red Devils fired a total of 38 shots, 11 of which were on target and Heaton saved each of those on-target shots. Tonight, United started on the front foot and within first 20 minutes, tested the Englishman with 3 shots. Eventually, Martial’s poke, which was United’s fourth shot, broke Heaton’s resilience.
However, tonight United gave a well-balanced performance and impressed both, on the attacking and defensive, fronts.
#4 Burnley register 0 shots on target
A lot was being discussed as to who will partner Eric Bailly at the back of defence after Marcos Rojo’s injury ruled him out for the season. Mourinho decided to go with Daley Blind and the move paid dividends as the Dutch player gave a decisive performance and didn't allow Burnley a sniff of the goal.
Burnley’s attack, on the other hand, looked lost themselves and offered little going forward. This was only the second time in their Premier League history that they failed to have even a single shot on target.
#5 A win away from the fourth spot
United have now gone 23 matches unbeaten in the league since their loss to Chelsea on October 23 at Stamford Bridge. While a good number of those have been drawn, the team looks as if they are not far from finding the right rhythm. Yes, the injuries have taken them back a bit, but the depth on the bench means able players are in line to replace who have been affected by injuries.
Now with just a point away from City, United have the chance to sneak into the top four. Though Mourinho has earlier stated that Europa League is a better option for the club to qualify for the Champions League, moving into the top four will take some pressure off them with a daunting schedule ahead.
If United manage to qualify for the Europa League final, they will have to play up to 10 matches, with games on both weekends and mid-weeks. The Red Devils also saw Pogba and Bailly struggling by the end of the match, but the United faithful would hope that it’s nothing serious.
