United head in right direction
JOSE MOURINHO was in the pink while a trio of his Manchester United stars were left with red faces.
United marked their first outing in their new pink away shirt with a win at Turf Moor that eased the growing pressure on their manager.
But they ended up making hard work of what had looked a comfortable afternoon after Paul Pogba had a penalty saved, Marcus Rashford was foolishly dismissed and Romelu Lukaku missed a sitter to complete his first hat-trick for the club.
Lukaku’s first-half double had put United in command against a Burnley side who looked tired after their Europa League exit on Thursday. The result never looked in doubt but Pogba should have killed off the Clarets, only to see Joe Hart save his spot-kick – the perfect response to “City reject” chants from the United fans.
Rashford, who had replaced Alexis Sanchez, won the penalty when he was tripped by Aaron Lennon but then reacted stupidly when he got a sly off-the-ball kick from former United defender Phil Bardsley. Rashford moved his forehead into Bardsley and left Jon Moss with no option.
Even with 10 men United should have finished it off when Lukaku raced away from Ben Mee and dribbled around Hart but delayed his shot long enough for Mee to get back and bundle him off the ball.
For a few moments, the Clarets sensed an improbable comeback but United recovered their composure to ensure they will go into the international break with their early-season crisis easing.
And despite the late dramas, there were plenty of positives for Mourinho.
His decision to recall the muchmaligned Marouane Fellaini into the midfield holding role alongside Nemanja Matic worked perfectly and gave United a solidity they lacked in their first three games.
Lukaku, Sanchez and Jesse Lingard linked well in attack and United should have had more goals, while Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling regained some much-needed confidence with mistake-free games.
A plane flew over Turf Moor before the game trailing a banner that attacked United’s executive vice-chairman: “Ed Woodward: Specialist in failure”.
That called back to Mourinho’s infamous remark about Arsene
Wenger and was a reference to Woodward’s refusal to back his manager’s pursuit of a number of central defensive targets in the summer. This result will certainly ease any tension that exists between them.
The pink shirts plus Mourinho’s pre-game proclamation that he remains one of the “greatest managers in the world” helped to crank up the stakes for a match United simply had to win to avoid falling further behind pacesetters Liverpool and Chelsea.
Lukaku’s double made sure his manager’s bold remark did not backfire. After a minute’s silence to mark the passing of Burnley legend Jimmy McIlroy, United were in command from the kick-off.
The Belgian had missed good chances in the defeats against Brighton and Tottenham when those games were goalless. Had he taken them the outcomes might well have been different and United would have avoided their early stumbles.
But Lukaku made amends yesterday, squeezing between Mee and Charlie Taylor to power home a header from Sanchez’s cross for the opener in the 27th minute.
Hart initially denied the striker a second by saving his shot after a quick break involving Sanchez but, a minute before the break, Lukaku turned sharply in the box to fire home after Lingard’s shot had deflected off a couple of Burnley players.
The expected Clarets fightback never materialised with United maintaining a comfortable level of control – and Hart being forced into saves from Sanchez and Shaw – until they started to shoot themselves in the foot in front of a disbelieving Mourinho.
Pogba’s penalty failure, Rashford’s sending-off and Lukaku’s miss all served to give Burnley encouragement and De Gea had to save from Chris Wood. But United calmed themselves down and saw out the game, although David de Gea had to save from Sam Vokes in added time.
At full-time Mourinho marched over to the vociferous United fans who had sang their support for him throughout the game, handing his coat to a supporter.
He will not be told to collect it along with his P45 in the foreseeable future.
BURNLEY (4-4-1-1): Hart 8; Bardsley 6, Tarkowski 6, Mee 6, Taylor 6; Lennon 5, Westwood 5, Cork 6, McNeil 6 (Barnes 80, 5); Hendrick 5 (Vokes 58, 6) Wood (Vydra 84, 5).
Booked: Bardsley, McNeil. NEXT UP: Wolves (a), September 16 PL.
MAN UTD (4-3-3): De Gea 7; Valencia 6, Smalling 6, Lindelof 6, Shaw 7; Fellaini 8, Matic 7, Pogba 6 (Bailly 90); Lingard 7 (Herrera 76, 5), Lukaku 8, Sanchez 6 (Rashford 61, 5). Goals: Lukaku 27, 44. Booked: Sanchez, Shaw, Lukaku. Sent off: Rashford 71. NEXT UP: Watford (a), September 15 PL.
Referee: J Moss (West Yorkshire).