Manchester United failed to win yet again this month, as they managed to get just a 1-1 draw at their trip to Burnley’s Turf Moor. Ralf Rangnick’s side earned a solitary point against the currently worst team in the league. It all started very well, actually.
Paul Pogba scored the opener just 18 minutes into the game, setting the Devils on a good path at an early stage of the match. However, United’s failure to take their chances resulted in a goal conceded just after half-time, when Jay Rodriguez took his opportunity, following Wout Weghorst’s assist. Here is everything we learned from another disappointing result.
Man United Of Two Halves
Man United played poorly against Middlesbrough, failed to beat them and ultimately exited from the FA Cup against a Championship side. Against the bottom-placed Burnley, United actually played better. At least, that could be said of the first half. It was then that Ralf Rangnick’s side played some good football and did not have problems creating chances against Sean Dyche’s 4-4-2.
Ball possession was made useful, with United making five shots on target, while still having two goals rightly disallowed. Edinson Cavani had a great chance to score from a close range header, but Nick Pope’s stunning save stopped him from netting. And then, just as things started in the second half, Man United were punished and failed to recover. Their second half performance was meek and without the needed energy, with Burnley finding their way to an important point.
Pogba Scores At Last
That was a long wait! Paul Pogba has scored his first Premier League goal since January 2021, when he netted in a 2-1 win against Fulham. It was a long wait with a lot of frustration. In this past year, not much changed in regards to the Frenchman – he was sometimes brilliant, sometimes erratic and then most of the time, he was injured. This has not been an easy season for him. He made 15 appearances and played just over 1000 minutes. He managed to get sent off against Liverpool and remain on the sidelines for the big chunk of the campaign. Hopefully this early goal against Burnley will finally spark Pogba’s imagination in the right way. After all, we still do not know whether he will remain at the club next season…
Ronaldo Still To Score In 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo did not start the match, but he rather came on after 68 minutes. In over 20 minutes on the pitch, he did not manage to get much hold of the ball. With just nine touches, he made three shots, none of them on target. While he did not play full 90 minutes this time, it was his fifth match in 2022 and he is still without a goal this year. His form since returning to Manchester is not justifying his status nor salary and with him turning 37, questions will only continue to be more and more often brought up about his impact.
Champions League Football – Are Devils Deserving?
It is tough to argue with facts. With this draw at Turf Moor, Man United are back in sixth place, with mere 39 points from 23 games. They have won just 11, less than 50 per cent of matches, and could easily be overtaken by Tottenham as well. Spurs have three points less and two games yet to play, which brings us to the tough realisation – so far this season, Man United are simply not deserving of the fourth place and Champions League football next season. The good thing is that there is enough football to be played for that to change.