DAVID MCDONNELL
Final say from Turf Moor
IT was reminiscent of Robin van Persie’s stunning volley that helped seal Manchester United’s last title triumph a decade ago.
United may have no chance of winning the title this season, but the breathtaking angled volley from Bruno Fernandes just before half-time could prove hugely significant in the context of their season.
After three successive defeats, Erik ten Hag warned his players nothing less than victory would do at Burnley – and Fernandes stepped up to deliver when United needed their leader most.
There were raised eyebrows when Ten Hag announced Fernandes as United’s new captain on their pre-season tour of the US in the summer, the playmaker not obvious leadership material.
United have had some formidable skippers down the years, including Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney, players whose commitment and desire could never be questioned.
Fernandes did not appear to follow that stellar lineage, not least after he lost the plot in United’s humiliating 7-0 defeat at arch rivals Liverpool last season, going missing like so many of Ten Hag’s side that day.
His penchant for histrionics when decisions go against him, along with his propensity for going to ground too easily, hardly marked him out as the outstanding candidate to inherit the armband from Harry Maguire.
Yet here, moments before half-time, with United having been outplayed by Burnley for much of the first half, Fernandes showed in a split second why he is fit to lead Ten Hag’s side, with a finish few players would have the vision and technique to execute.
There seemed little danger when Jonny Evans floated a speculative ball over the top of the
Burnley defence towards Fernandes, particularly with the difficult angle facing the Portugal international. But just as Van Persie did against Aston Villa at Old Trafford in 2013, watching Rooney’s pass all the way before dispatching it into the net first-time with an unstoppable cocktail of technique and power, Fernandes showed he can turn a game in the blink of an eye.
“That is what captains do,” said another former United skipper, Rio Ferdinand, analysing the game for TNT Sports. “They step up in big moments when you need something.”
The goal proved the platform for a vital win for United, one which has eased the pressure on Ten Hag and his players after such a miserable start to a season of such hope and expectation.
After finishing third last season and ending United’s six-years wait for a trophy by lifting the Carabao Cup, four defeats from their first six games was not the intended script for Ten Hag and his men.
But this win has at least given them some respite from that calamitous start and, with their next five games against Crystal Palace – in the Carabao Cup and Premier League – Galatasaray, Brentford and Sheffield United, the opportunity to turn a corner and make progress is there.
In mitigation, Ten Hag has been operating against the backdrop of a huge list of enforced absences, with players missing either through a combination of injuries and off-field issues.
The lack of personnel at Ten Hag’s disposal was underlined by the fact Evans, back at United on a one-year deal, was handed a first start for the club since March 2015.
With Lisandro Martinez and Maguire injured, and Raphael Varane only making the bench after missing four games, Ten Hag turned to Evans.
It was a gamble from Ten Hag, with Evans – a hostage to injury last season at Leicester – making only his fourth Premier League start of 2023.
But with so many enforced absences – the entire first-choice defence out – and with Ten Hag unwilling to risk Varane by playing him from the start, the United boss put his faith in Evans.
The 35-year-old – who had a first-half header ruled out for offside – vindicated Ten Hag’s decision with a solid defensive display and the assist for Fernandes, the pair integral to a crucial and hardearned win for United.