Manchester United managed to equalize with Burnley after they suffered 2 goals in the first half. The substitute player Jesse Lingard rescued United twice by scoring both the goals of the game, after Ashely Barnes and Steven Defour struck goals for Burnley.
This draw with Burnley is the second in number after an equalizer with Leicester City in the previous match. This means that the Red Devils are now 15 points behind Manchester City who defeated Newcastle United 1-0 in their previous match.
However, the great comeback by the United team was worth appreciating, which even their manager Jose Mourinho hailed later. He was furious when his team allowed Leicester City to make an equalizer in the ending minutes of the previous match. The United team had created the expectation of winning against Leicester City after they were leading by 2-1, however the last minute goal of Harry Maguire had quashed the hopes of United to earn the much needed three points.
After that final let-down by the team players in the last match, Mourinho had made several changes against Burnely. Lingard and Victor Lindelof were playing as substitute players while Chris Smalling and Anthony Martial were both out of the team. He had also included Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw. Still, the result was the same as it was against Leicester City.
The inclusion of Ibrahimovic did not pay off for the team as Mourinho had hoped. However, his decision to bring Lingard as a replacement for Ibrahimovic proved to be true after the first half. He was the ultimate savior of the game as United were looking to be defeated by Burnley at their own ground since 1962.
Lingard found the net very early after he joined others at the ground. In the 54th minute, he struck a goal with a back heeled flick. Then in the injury time, he scored again. According to him via Goal.com, he said:
“If we had played for another five or 10 minutes, we would have won the game”.
However, their win should not be that surprising. They have defeated Chelsea and equalized matches with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United. They are currently placed at the seventh spot right behind Arsenal.
Burnley had scored very early in the game when they got an opportunity in the form of a free-kick conceded by Marcos Rojo for bringing down Jeff Hendrick. In the 36th minute, a free kick had come in their way again when Scott Arfield was tripped by Ashley Young. And that opportunity was exquisitely exploited by Defour to give the visitors one more goal.
After this match, it becomes three win-less games now for the United side who are well behind league leaders Manchester City. The win against Southampton could see their lost form regained, who have not won any match after winning against Everton in November.