Manchester United returned to their winning ways, beating Burnley at Turf Moor by goals from Romelu Lukaku, as the hosts continue their struggles. The Belgian striker scored a brace inside of the first half, easing the pressure on his side after a tumultuous ten days at Old Trafford.
Manchester United Incredibly Comfortable
It was a match Manchester United have not played like for a long while. The Devils were very comfortable throughout the first half, as Burnley recorded a single shot towards David De Gea’s goal. Jose Mourinho’s 4-3-3 performed perfectly, as Sanchez and Lingard provided movement and Valencia and Shaw offered width in the advanced positions.
It was all about Manchester United in that half, with two goals to make things even smoother. In the second half, United eased the rhythm and Burnley actually started attacking. From their nine shots, eight came in that half and United were truly troubled only when Sam Vokes missed his close range header. Things looked composed in defence, which is very important after Monday night’s loss.
Lukaku Scores Lukaku-esque Goals
Romelu Lukaku scored a brace to earn his team three points. He is now on three goals, behind Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sadio Mane. And these goals were typical Romelu Lukaku goals, at least at Manchester United. They did not come from great buildup or team’s constant movement. Instead, the first of the two was a close range header after a cross from the left, while the second came after a scrap around the six yard box.
These goals will be important for him, especially as they ultimately earned the win to his team. But what should improve is the way Lukaku gets into chances. His best opportunity against Tottenham, amidst the great team play in first half, was not due to teammates and him linking up nicely, but due to Danny Rose’s mistake.
Burnley Could Be In Trouble
Burnley are four matches into the season and are still on a single point they won on the opening weekend against Southampton. They still scored just three, but more importantly, conceded nine. They are also underperforming defensively in their xG against, as they were expected to concede around seven goals.
Sean Dyche will have to find a way to improve his side soon and get them back to their old ways. The team is missing any type of creativity when the Clarets go behind early.
Vibrant Jesse Lingard Is A Joy To Watch
This was a match in which watching Jesse Lingard was a very pleasant sight. The 25-year old played the way he knows – constant movement was giving problems to Burnley and his output was obvious. He created one chance for his teammates, had two shots and two successful dribbles.
Lingard was literally everywhere during the 75 minutes he played. His heatmap also offers good insight into this, but what stood out most was the shots he made. First was a nice try from outside of the box when he missed just narrowly. After that came a cheeky move from inside of the box when he did not have any time or space to do so, proving just how entertaining he can be.
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