MUTINY IN AIR AS UNITED SINK FAST
AFOG had descended over Old Trafford by full-time and mutiny hung in the air, at least among those supporters who had bothered to stay around long enough to jeer their displeasure at this debacle.
Manchester United have witnessed some low points this season. But this? The nadir, surely.
Watford, West Ham, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Crystal Palace have all beaten United since August. Now Burnley are celebrating their first win at Old Trafford since September 1962.
By the time it was over, huge swathes of red seats were visible around the ground. Many of the fans in the singing section who had joined in anti-Glazer chants even when the game was goalless in the first half had given up and headed for home. What did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer say about ‘ making strides’ in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday?
Two defeats in a row for United — and two blanks in the absence of Marcus Rashford after he was ruled out for months with a double stress fracture in his back.
Two wins on the spin for a resurgent Burnley who came from behind to beat Leicester at the weekend.
Robbie Blake’s name is writ large in their history and now Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez can join him as conquerors of United in the Premier League era. That really is where the similarities end, however. When Blake volleyed Burnley to a famous victory at Turf Moor in August 2009 in the club’s first topflight home game in 33 years, he was gunning down a United team in their pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Goals from Wood and Rodriguez last night came against a United side who have sunk horribly below those standards.
It is only because of Chelsea and Tottenham’s shortcomings that United still have a sniff of a topfour place after three defeats in four league games. If they continue to slide — particularly with Rashford on the sidelines alongside Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay and no sign of reinforcements with a few days left of the January transfer window — the board’s faith in Solskjaer will be severely tested again.
It’s hard to know where to start with this, United were so poor.
It might have been a different story had they made more of some inviting crosses from Aaron WanBissaka in the first half. But Anthony Martial and Juan Mata fluffed their efforts in front of goal and then Nick Pope tipped over Dan James’ header at the far post.
Martial took far too long to get his shot off when Matic picked him out in the box in the 33rd minute. One touch was OK, but a second was too much and gave Charlie Taylor just enough time to get back and make an excellent block as Martial shaped to shoot with only Pope to beat.
Wood stunned Old Trafford when he fired Burnley ahead six minutes before half- time. Phil Jones, starting his first league game in two months, actually played the big New Zealander very well, but it was his central defensive partner Harry Maguire who lost track of the Burnley forward.
James Tarkowski pumped a free kick forward from close to halfway and Ben Mee got enough on the ball under pressure from Matic to glance it goalward. Wood reacted faster than Maguire to pounce on the loose ball and hook it inside David de Gea’s inside post.
It would be hard to better Blake’s strike all those years ago, but
Rodriguez came close when he doubled Burnley’s lead 11 minutes after half time.
Wood was again involved, playing a one-two with Rodriguez who also got away from Maguire too easily before he smashed a shot off the underside of the bar with de gea slow to react.
a year ago, Burnley led 2-0 here only to concede two late goals as United salvaged a draw. The home side never came close to doing the same last night. luke
Shaw beat Pope with a late header but even the United substitute didn’t look like he believed the goal would stand before referee Jon Moss and then VaR ruled it out for a push.
as the seconds ticked down and the empty red seats multiplied, Moss penalised Juan Mata for a foul. The Spaniard, a model of calm and restraint in his six years at United, furiously launched the ball up into the thickening fog.
When Mata starts to lose the plot, you know it’s bad.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 5; Wan-Bissaka 6.5, Jones 5.5, Maguire 5, Williams 6.5 (Shaw 69min, 6); Fred 6.5, Matic 5; Mata 6, Pereira 5 (Greenwood 46, 6.5), James 6 (Lingard 69, 6); Martial 6.
Subs not used: Romero, Bailly, Dalot,
Gomes.
Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 5. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Pope 7; Lowton 7, Tarkowski 7, Mee 7, Taylor 7; Hendrick 7, Cork 7, WESTWOOD 8.5, McNeil 7; Rodriguez 8, Wood 8. Subs not used: Hart, Brady, Pieters, Lennon, Vydra, Long, Goodridge. Scorers: Wood 39, Rodriguez 56. Booked: Taylor, Westwood. Manager: Sean Dyche 7.5. Referee: Jon Moss 6. Attendance: 73,198.