Jose Mourinho must be hugely relieved as his side outclassed Burnley at Turf Moor. He was under a lot of pressure as his team lost the previous two matches against Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur. It was Romelu Lukaku who scored twice in the first half to get the victory for United.
Mourinho looked in a much cheerful mood and was even smiling while answering press questions. Last time, he had stormed out of the press conference after the Spurs defeat whilst demanding for respect.
The Portuguese said in his press conference via The Daily Star:
“I am delighted with the result.
“But I think some of you must be disappointed. It would be much better if we lose.”
His team dominated in all departments controlling possession and the tempo of the game from the very beginning. While the Clarets were dismal in their performance. There wasn’t any moment in the game when the result looked in danger for United.
For Burnley, this is their third Premier League defeat after losing against Fulham and Watford. They have also been eliminated from the Europa League after losing 4-2 on aggregate against Olympiacos.
United’s first goal came in the 27th minute though they looked threatening from the very start. Alexis Sanchez, after collecting Luke Shaw’s pass, provided a beautiful cross over the head of Ben Mee towards Lukaku who was in a perfect position to powerfully head the ball into the nets.
A little while later Lukaku almost scored another goal, however, Joe Hart denied the striker with a fine save. Just before half-time, another opportunity came his way and he made full use of it. The ball dropped perfectly in front of him after Lingard’s shot bounced off Burnley’s Taylor and then Westwood. Without wasting any time, he kicked the ball home scoring his third goal of the season.
Both teams could not score any goals in the next half. The only eventful incident was the red card Rashford received after he pressed his forehead into Bardsley. As Rashford was clearly the instigator of the conflict, the referee had no choice but to give a red card. That’s why the Red Devils were forced to play with ten men for the final 20 minutes.
Mourinho later added:
“I don’t know what happened. I would say it was naive.”
Manchester United do not have any matches for about two weeks now. After this victory, they will likely be spared from much of the criticism. They will then face Watford in an away match and Young Boys in the Champions League.