Premier League (day 20): Manchester United win without forcing against Burnley (3-1)

Manchester United is recovering. After the lackluster draw on Monday at Newcastle (1-1), the Red Devils spoke about their efficiency to win this Thursday against Burnley (3-1). The Mancuniens made the difference in the first period thanks to Scott McTominay (8th), the goal against his camp of Ben Mee on a shot from Jadon Sancho (27th) and Cristiano Ronaldo (35th) before managing year in and year out despite the reduction in Lennon’s score (38th). This success allows the Mancuniens to move up to sixth place, four points behind fourth place at Arsenal, and with one game less.

4 shots on target, 3 goals: United’s first half came close to perfection. Questioned by their coach Ralf Rangnick after the match at Newcastle, the Mancuniens were much more incisive in the first act and took off in the first half thanks to the duo McTominay – Cristiano Ronaldo. The Scotsman was particularly prominent on the eve of his compatriot Alex Ferguson’s 80th birthday.

From the eighth minute, Cristiano Ronaldo’s control turned into an assist for McTominay, astute on his curled shot from the entrance to the area (1-0, 8th). Almost thirty minutes later, a similar shot from the middle found the post, allowing the inevitable CR7 to triple the bet (3-0, 35th), while Jadon Sancho had forced Ben Mee to his camp a few minutes more early (2-0, 27th).

United feverish, Bailly injured

However, there is still work to be done on the Manchester side. The offensive success masked a game that was not very exciting in the absence of Bruno Fernandes, especially in a second half managed failing to be controlled. The Mancuniens also showed some signs of feverishness in defense, like Eric Bailly, guilty of a loss of ball on the goal of Aaron Lennon (3-1, 38th). The Ivorian then left his teammates for a thigh injury (66th) a few days before the CAN. Harry Maguire and David De Gea also struggled in the aerial game. It could have cost them dearly if Mee (67th) or Tarkowski (90th) had been able to frame a header from a corner.

Finally, the result also owes a lot to Burnley’s poor performance. After an interesting start, the Clarets failed to overcome the pitfall of opening the scoring. In lack of rhythm after 18 days without playing, they did not put enough pressure and lost all inclination during the match. 18th, however, they are 3 games behind. The Red Devils remain in the race for the Champions League.