Mourinho enters calm spell after Man United beat Burnley

After the furore that followed straight Premier League defeats for Manchester United, Jose Mourinho’s team produced a routine 2-0 victory over Burnley on Sunday.

Romelu Lukaku’s first-half double put United in control before the second half briefly took a dramatic turn when Burnley goalkeeper Joe Hart saved Paul Pogba’s penalty kick and substitute Marcus Rashford was sent off for violent conduct only 11 minutes after coming on.

“Even with 10 men for 15 minutes the team was the team that had the chances to score,” Mourinho said. “We are all very happy that the boys can go for their international week with the feeling (of winning).”

After storming out of his news conference following United’s defeat to Tottenham, demanding “respect, respect” from the media, Mourinho was much calmer ahead of his side’s trip to Burnley, and the approach may have brought rewards on the field.

Mourinho will have been especially pleased by United’s improved defensive performance as it claimed a first clean sheet of the league season.

Both the Portuguese and his squad will enter the international break with confidence that United’s worst Premier League start for 26 years is firmly behind them.

SMALL DRAMAS

The only dramas for United this time concerned Pogba’s penalty miss and Rashford’s red card, but Mourinho wasn’t critical of either.

After Rashford was fouled in the box, Pogba - who has already scored two penalties this season had his spot kick saved by Hart.

“I never blame a player for missing penalties,” Mourinho told BBC Sport. “I blame the ones who refuse to go up there. Paul’s scored some good ones for us.”

The frustration of the penalty miss appeared to affect Rashford more than Pogba and within a minute of the miss the England striker had been sent off.

Burnley defender Phil Bardsley tackled Rashford before kicking him in the aftermath of the challenge. Rashford attempted to take matters into his own hands, pushing his forehead into Bardsley’s face, and was sent off.

“I would say it was naive,” Mourinho said. “It was a kid and a very experienced man. Bardsley’s been in the game for 20 years and Marcus is a naive boy.”