It’s all right on the Knight for United
McTominay and Co give Sir Alex early birthday present at Old Trafford
MANCHESTER UNITED found some sparkle to make it the perfect birthday for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fergie took his usual seat in the Old Trafford directors’ box on the eve of turning 80, to see United bash Burnley with a performance that might just have made the legendary Scot feel young again.
Strikes from Scott McTominay and Cristiano Ronaldo, along with an own goal from Ben Mee, saw United score three times before the interval for the first time in almost 12 months as they got set for the New Year in style.
Aaron Lennon pulled one back for the Clarets before the break but nothing could stop the hosts from handing Fergie the perfect present to mark his landmark occasion.
The win also eased the pressure on Ralf Rangnick in the wake of his uninspired start as Old Trafford interim boss.
McTominay, 25, said: “Probably in the first half as a team it’s the best display since the gaffer came in.
“We were a bit flat in the second half for whatever reason. We need to get that for a full 90 minutes which we haven’t really had this year. But we are learning and adapting.”
It was the visitors who should have struck first when Matt Lawton picked out Chris Wood with a superb cross but the Kiwi failed to hit the target with his diving header.
Seconds later Ronaldo produced an even worse miss when Luke Shaw sent him clean through on goal, only for the Portuguese icon to shoot wide with just keeper Wayne Hennessey to beat.
But all was forgiven within two minutes when Ronaldo teed up McTominay on the edge of the box and he drilled a low shot past Hennessey.
But United looked to have blown their opponents away with two more goals inside eight minutes.
Home fans had unfurled a huge banner in the Stretford End before kick-off wishing Fergie a ‘Happy Birthday’ and he took a picture of it.
He had even more to smile about when Mee deflected Jadon Sancho’s shot into the bottom corner in 27 minutes to double United’s advantage.
Then his favourite son Ronaldo tapped into an open goal after Hennessey had tipped McTominay’s drive on to the post.
Less than three minutes later veteran Lennon pulled one back for the Clarets with a cool finish to offer his side some hope with his first goal since 2018.
But they never really came close to spoiling Fergie’s night.