Pre-Match Social Media Talking Points
Match Report
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United secured a much-needed three-point haul on an away day at Turg Moor after the Red Devils fought to a 1-0 win at Burnley to bring their recent skid to an end in the wake of their midweek loss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Tactical changes from United boss Erik ten Hag already brought a feeling of angst to a large swath of supporters in the run-up to kick-off at Turf Moor, and how the match began in the opening exchanges did little to extinguish the anxiety despite a big save from James Trafford on Bruno Fernandes in the 7th minute.
Burnley was lively in the opening ten minutes and it looked clear that the evening was hardly going to be a walk in the park, and just three minutes after Trafford’s save, the Clarets nearly took the lead through a Zeki Abdouni header from close range, but André Onana expertly turned away the goal-bound effort in a bid to redeem himself from United’s midweek loss at Bayern in which the Cameroonian was the subject of considerable criticism.
Vincent Kompany’s men would come close again six minutes later through Amdouni once more when the Swiss striker was put through into the box beyond Victor Lindelöf but his low drive across goal could only rattle Onana’s post, in what was another warning shot across United’s bow.
But just on the stroke of half-time, it was Bruno Fernandes who popped up with an absolute peach of a goal on the full volley from a tight angle inside twelve yards after Johnny Evans, who had a goal disallowed earlier, played the Portuguese international over the top before he slammed home low past Trafford.
It was a huge spell of relief for the English giants, who had been under considerable pressure all half away from home with Burnley often looking the better of the two sides on the balance of play.
The second half was not as action-packed as the first, but the overall even nature of what transpired on the pitch was still evident and glaring as United were unable to force a greater advantage on the scoresheet despite the individual quality gap.
Still, Burnley deserved a considerable amount of credit for their collective performance in front of home support, and with just fifteen minutes remaining, the Clarets still had created more chances on the night, and a triple attacking change by Kompany looked to make good on that slight advantage when he brought on Jacob Bruun Larsen, Sander Berge, and Jay Rodriguez.
In the end, the loan wonder strike from the Red Devils captain would be enough for United to secure their first away win of the season to end a three-match losing run in all competitions, temporarily easing so much of the tension that has already begun to build surrounding the 2023-24 campaign.
As for Burnley, though Kompany’s men still have yet to secure their first three-point haul since returning to the English top flight, it was nevertheless a performance that showed that they are on the right track to picking up points at an improved rate over time. Despite that, however, the thought of relegation still looms large at Turn Moor as the club sits in the bottom three early doors.
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