(Football news) Manchester United dropped out of the top four of the Premier League after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Burnley at the Turf Moor. Ralf Rangnick dropped Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench with Edinson Cavani in the starting lineup while David De Gea replaced Dean Henderson in goal. Two changes were made in Burnley’s starting XI as well with Jay Rodriguez partnering Wout Weghorst up front while Maxwel Cornet was accommodated on the wing and Josh Brownhill returned from suspension to replace Dale Stephens in the middle of the park.
It was the first time since October that Paul Pogba started a Premier League match for Manchester United and the Frenchman showed just how important he is to the team by getting their only goal of the match. Pogba found the back of the net from Luke Shaw’s low cross in the 18th minute, ensuring Manchester United were firmly in the driving seat. The first half performance by the Red Devils was sublime and were unlucky to not have scored more after having two other goals ruled out and pretty much outplayed Burnley in the opening 45 minutes. Jadon Sancho’s combination play with Luke Shaw looked particularly promising and Edinson Cavani had a shot blocked by Nick Pope at point blank range.
However, the second half was a completely different story as the Red Devils failed to register a single attempt on target even after the introduction of Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s evident that under Ralf Rangnick, Manchester United have struggled to maintain their intensity for the duration of the match and allowed Burnley back into the game when their own performance levels dipped. Just two minutes into the second half, a moment of brilliance from Weghorst changed the game as he twisted and turned away from Harry Maguire and provided the assist to Jay Rodriguez who found the back of the net. The Netherlands international could have scored Burnley’s second goal after unleashing a fierce shot from distance which was saved by De Gea.
After a disappointing result against Middlesbrough which resulted in Manchester United’s elimination from the FA Cup, the Red Devils endured another poor result against bottom placed Burnley. It’s a mystery why a team with expensively assembled players cannot perform up to a certain level for the duration of 90 minutes. It seems like a flimsy excuse that the players are not fit enough but it might be the only logical reasoning behind why Manchester United are a team that look good for patches in a match. Burnley on the other hand will hope to use this result as a benchmark which will lift them up from the relegation zone and ensure survival in the Premier League.
Speaking after the match, Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said “We had a very good counter-attacking situation 30 seconds before we conceded the goal and the way that we allowed them to score, we did not defend the whole situation well. At the end, it was a frustrating evening for us because we should have won that game easily after the first half and even the last 25 minutes we had full control and dominated the game but were not decisive enough as we were in the first half.
"I could not blame the team for not having a killer instinct in the first half but in the last 25 minutes we had a lot of set pieces. "In the end, it was a little bit a case of luck with Raphael Varane, the header by Cristiano, Harry Maguire, but in the end one point for a performance like this is just not enough."
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