Manchester United have dropped more points, only drawing Burnley at home. The away side grabbed 2 goals in the opening half, but a second half brace from Jesse Lingard saved a point for United.
Considering United’s recent results going into this game, this game was a must win for the Red Devils. It was not going to be easy, as Burnley have taken plenty of points off the top 6 this season, beating Chelsea and drawing Spurs.
Mourinho changed up the starting XI in order to inject to life and ideas into the side. For the first time this season, Ibrahimovic started with Lukaku, playing as the attacking midfielder. They were flanked by Rashford and Mata. In defense, Jones and Rojo got the start at the center back positions, with Young and Shaw as the fullbacks. Martial was dropped from the 18 entirely, which was harsh considering he wasn’t the worst player on the pitch vs Leicester.
It was a nightmare start for United, has Burnley grabbed a goal in the opening minutes. A free kick was whipped into the penalty area, and was poorly defended by United. The ball fell to the feet of Barnes, who turned and smashed it past De Gea to give Burnley a shock lead.
Burnley continued their hot start to the match, hitting the crossbar soon after. A cross from out wide picked out Arfield in the box, and his first time volley just skimmed the top of the bar.
United finally got into the game, and begun to dominate possession. Luke Shaw had a decent chance, hitting a long shot hard at the Burnley goal. Pope couldn’t control the shot, but the rebound only found a Burnley defender.
United had about 7 corners in a row, but were unable to find a goal from any of the set pieces.
As United were getting closer to finding an equaliser, Burnley snatched another goal to double their advantage. A careless foul from Young gave Burnley a free kick. Up stepped Defour, who smashed a curling effort into the top corner. It was a moment of sheer class, and there was nothing De Gea could have done.
United almost grabbed one back right after the goal, but were stopped by a goal line clearance from a Burnley defender. A long ball from Pogba found Rashford, who cut inside and placed a shot past Pope. However, Ben Mee was in position, and cleared the ball away from danger.
Mourinho made 2 changes at halftime to try and salvage something from this match. Mkhitaryan and Lingard came in for Ibra and Rojo, with Matic moving to centre-back.
The change was an inspired one, as Lingard scored to start the second half. A low cross from Young found Lingard in the box, and the academy product brilliantly flicked it to the far post, past the outreached Pope.
United should’ve equalised, when Rashford picked out Lukaku with a cross. However, the Belgian striker fluffed his lines, and the ball hit him in the face, bouncing far away from goal.
The crosses kept coming in for United, as Young hit one to the back post. Mkhitaryan was the unlikely winner of the aerial duel, but couldn’t get the header on target.
Luke Shaw had a chance to grab a late equaliser when the ball bounced to him in the area, but his volley was defended well when it was blocked by the Burnley defence.
The equaliser finally came in the 90th minute, when Burnley were unable to clear away a United cross. The ball fell to Lingard, who hit it on the volley, and blasted it to the far post.
United had some time to try and find a late winner, but just couldn’t get across the line in the end. Although Manchester came back from 2 goals down to salvage a point, they have still dropped 2 points at home.
Manchester United’s next match is against Southampton on the 30th at Old Trafford.
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