Wednesday night’s short trip to Turf Moor was ultimately more of the same for Manchester United.
Manchester United had to settle for a draw against a struggling Burnley side at Turf Moor in the Premier League, ultimately unable to see out the game after taking the lead in the second half.in Darren Fletcher’s first game in charge and United created enough chances to win comfortably—two came back off the woodwork, two others were cleared off the line and one would-be goal was disallowed—but defensive frailty cost them.
An Ayden Heaven own goal against the run of play handed Burnley an unexpected lead by half-time, before Benjamin Šeško’s first goals since October—doubling his tally for the season—later had United ahead with a quarter of the contest left to play.dark. FREE NEWSLETTER. New SI FC Newsletter Global Embed. Sign Up to Get Informed With SI FCIn a good position for the cross that led to Burnley taking the lead, until it took the deflection off Heaven—then, he had no chance of stopping it. Nor did he the second either.Defensively solid, winning all of his duels in the air and on the ground. Would have liked to get forward more and make a greater impact in that sense.Caught in two minds for his own goal because of the attacker in his peripheral vision. It meant he was not close enough to properly block the cross and the deflection carried the ball into the net instead.Harsh that his first half goal was disallowed because the foul on Kyle Walker beforehand was soft to say the least. Needs to look at his role in the second Burnley goal because of how easily he let Anthony turn and shoot.This was his chance to nail down a place in the starting XI moving forward, especially with Kobbie Mainoo returning to fitness on the bench. Failed to really stamp his authority.Often looked threatening without making a true impact, although one effort was cleared off the line. Arguably not as comfortable on the right as he is centrally or drifting in from the left.Back in the starting XI after three games out injured and made a substantial impact as expected in a position higher up the pitch than in recent months. Set upPerformed well again as a winger, rather than a fullback. On the left this time, but being on his strong side made the second goal for Šeško possible with a fluid cross.Guilty of missing numerous chances since returning from injury and took them here. They were two instinctive finishes to score twice that removed the need to think and highlights what he is capable of with some confidence and the right service.Martin Dúbravka; Josh Laurent, Maxime Estève, Bashir Humphries; Kyle Walker , Lesley Ugochukwu, Florentino, Lucas Pires; Marcus Edwards, Hannibal Mejbri; Armando Broja.Bruno Fernandes impressed in managed minutes. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images United started brightly on a cold night in Lancashire and the away support were in good spirits as they sang Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s name amid the possibility he could return to the club as interim manager until the end of the season. But early chances didn’t materialise—there seemed a lack of cohesion in the final third—and Burnley struck against the run of play when an attempted cross from Bashir Humphries on their left took a wicked deflection off Heaven and looped over Senne Lammens. It was poor fromThe visitors were stunned by the setback but started to find their way again midway through the first half, registering a first attempt on target when a Šeško header was straight at Martin Dúbravka. But then came two more chances in quick succession, first as Humphries continued his great night by clearing Matheus Cunha’s header off the line, and then when Lisandro Martínez had a would-be equaliser ruled out after he was deemed to have wrestled Kyle Walker to the ground. Burnley remained a threat on the break and went close when left-sided wing back Lucas Pires drove a shot across goal. Dúbravka later denied Šeško again with a much better save, flying to his left after the United man had ghosted between Burnley’s centre backs to direct a header towards goal. Another save from Matheus Cunha followed in first-half stoppage time, before Dúbravka was beaten by Patrick Dorgu’s dink, only for Maxime Estève to hook the ball off the line. Šeško finally got the break he needed just six minutes after the restart. It was an instinctive finish from the Slovenian, lashing the ball across goal into the bottom corner after Fernandes slipped him in with a clever pass. Moments later, from a similar position, Fernandes smacked the post. With United now dominating, an unmarked Heaven had a glaring chance to make amends with a go-ahead goal at the right end, nodding the ball the wrong side of the post from four yards out. But the pressure paid off when Šeško got his well-taken second, simply guiding Dorgu’s pinpoint cross past Dúbravka on the volley after moving into a good position.The lead didn’t last. If United had been guilty of minimal pressure on the ball for Burnley’s first goal, it happened again. Lisandro Martínez was the player who stood off, allowing Anthony the time and space to shift the ball onto his left foot and unleash a shot that gave Lammens no chance. It was the home side’s first attempt on target of the game—and their second goal, 66 minutes in. A coupe of comfortable Dúbravka saves followed as Šeško searched for his hat-trick, before academy graduate Shea Lacey came within inches of what would have been a stunning first senior goal. The young and fearless winger drove forward and sent a pearl of a shot crashing against the bar. Lacey tried again in stoppage time and it wasn’t far away, swerving just past the post, but United will feel this is two more points dropped in the circumstances.Jamie Spencer is a freelance editor and writer for Sports Illustrated FC. Jamie fell in love with football in the mid-90s and specializes in the Premier League, Manchester United, the women’s game and old school nostalgia.
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