BRUNO’S STUNNER A TIMELY LIFT FOR UNITED
Fernandes wonder goal eases pressure on boss Ten Hag
BRUNO FERNANDES produced a moment of magic as an unfamiliar looking Manchester United line-up ended a run of three consecutive defeats to climb into the top half of the Premier League table.
After surviving a few first-half scares with Burnley hitting the post, captain Fernandes settled manager Erik ten Hag’s nerves by volleying a Jonny Evans pass Robin van Persie-style on the stroke of the interval.
On TV, an admiring Rio Ferdinand said: ‘That is what captains do. They step up in big moments when you need something special.’
It was a gutsy rather than convincing United win but they’ll take it after a traumatic start to the season and their back-four entirely made up of understudies because of injury, with 35-year-old Evans the most surprising pick.
Burnley, managed by United’s old nemesis Vincent Kompany, could feel aggrieved to be trailing at halftime but nonetheless slump to the foot of the table with this defeat.
Everyone inside Turf Moor knew something had to give with Burnley having lost all their previous home games and United pointless away.
Ten Hag, already without Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka longterm, had to contend with a fresh injury to Lisandro Martinez while a knee problem meant Harry Maguire still wasn’t available.
The Dutchman therefore turned to 35-year-old Evans for his first Premier League start with the club since 2015, having re-signed for United in the summer.
Hannibal Mejbri and Scott McTominay were also drafted in to bring younger legs to a new-look midfield. The Tunisian’s only previous United start came in 2022 against Crystal Palace under Ralf Rangnick.
For Burnley, Zeki Amdouni was asked to fill the striking boots of suspended Lyle Foster, being pushed further forward with Aaron Ramsey coming in following his summer move from Aston Villa.
Burnley didn’t get into the United box until the 10th minute but would have scored without a magnificent stretching save by Amadou Onana, who had been at fault for the midweek Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich.
Josh Brownhill and Conor Roberts combined down the right and when the ball was fired in, Amdouni’s downward header was squeezing into the corner until Onana sprung into action and clawed the ball away. Diogo Dalot became the first player to be booked when he had to foul Luca Koleosho to stop the Burnley winger from flying past him.
The home side have an energy under Kompany that United tried to counter by slowing the game down with patient passing, all the way from Onana at the back.
But when Burnley got near the United penalty area, they were mightily dangerous.
Johan Gudmundsson, one of Burnley’s most experienced players, had to leave the field after 20 minutes with Mike Tresor coming on for his first Turf Moor appearance, having signed from Genk in the summer.
United needed a relaxant and it nearly came from an unlikely source after 25 minutes.
Evans met Sergio Reguilon’s corner well with a glancing header and the celebrations were wild — until VAR spotted Hojlund obstructing Trafford’s view and possibly obstructing him as well from an offside position.
Though technology is often finicky it was the correct decision on this occasion — Hojlund was blatantly trying to gain an unfair advantage and hopefully got a roasting from his team-mates at the interval for denying Evans his magic moment.
Despite an unusually mild evening in Burnley, United’s midfield enforcer Casemiro opted for gloves. At least the Brazilian was able to enjoy his half-time cuppa with his side in front after Onana managed to stop Ramsey’s shot at the second attempt after the midfielder had cut inside into the box.
As the board signalled three minutes of first-half injury time, they took the lead with a goal of real quality out of place with the rest of their play in the opening 45 minutes.
Think of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie combining.
This time Evans played the Rooney part with a lofted pass to Fernandes on the right angle of the penalty area.
From there, the Portuguese midfielder showed his technical class, watching the ball as it dropped out of the sky before hitting a rightfooted sidefoot volley that flew past James Trafford, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Improbably, United could have gone even further ahead before the break but Hojlund on the stretch couldn’t keep his volley down. Fernandes had not scored in the Premier League away from Old Trafford since January and it felt hugely significant for a club low on morale because of injuries, poor results and off-field problems of varying kinds involving Mason Greenwood, Antony and Jadon Sancho.