UK Edition
Man Utd 2 Burnley 2: Jesse Lingard’s rescue act fails to lift Jose Mourinho who says '£300m not enough' to compete
Another day, another draw, another Jose Mourinho tirade. Not for the first time this season, Burnley left one of the Premier League’s leading lights sporting a bloody nose after another successful away day but, by the end of a chaotic afternoon, it was Mourinho landing the heaviest blows.
No target was spared – his players for conceding “another ‘S’ [s---] goal”, the United board for not spending enough as the club’s rivals, not least Premier League leaders Manchester City, whom he as good as accused of buying their way to the title.
United, Mourinho said, were a big club in name but not currently “a big football team”. Then, in a blunt message to Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, and the Glazer family, the club’s owners, ahead of the January transfer window, the United manager insisted the near-£300 million outlay over the past 18 months was not enough to get the club back to where they want to be.
If only his team had gone on the attack in the same way. United were ultimately indebted to the brilliance of substitute Jesse Lingard for scoring twice in the second half to inspire a fightback after Burnley had taken a 2-0 lead into the interval courtesy of Ashley Barnes’s early opener and a superlative free-kick from Steven Defour. United have now dropped seven points from the last 15 available.
This result came just three days after a 2-2 draw at Leicester City, when Mourinho accused his players of “childish” errors and a “lack of maturity”, and City will open up an eye-watering 15-point lead at the top of the table should they beat Newcastle United tonight. Suffice to say, Mourinho is not happy. “When you say a big club like Manchester United, do you think Milan is not as big as us?” Mourinho said, referring to other big, historic clubs experiencing their own difficulties.
“You think they are not as big as we are? Do you think Real Madrid are not as big as we are? You think Inter Milan is not as big as we are? One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team that you know is not one of the best teams in the world.
“Manchester City buy full-backs for the price of the strikers, so when you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club.”
United’s £286 million outlay since Mourinho took charge in May last year is around £80 million less than Pep Guardiola has spent over the same period at City. But Mourinho suggested his club would have to start digging deeper. “Is not enough, is not enough,” he said.
It was an eventful game: some lovely goals, hapless defending and a flurry of cards – 10 all told on a busy day for referee Martin Atkinson. Burnley have now drawn at United, Liverpool and Spurs this season and won at Chelsea. They achieved this result without four of their recognised five-man back line, a testament to their character and growth, even if Sean Dyche admitted it was frustrating not to see his side hold on at the end.
That was largely down to the difference the introduction of Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan at half-time made to United, as well as the energy and attacking endeavour of full-backs Ashley Young and Luke Shaw. The changes injected much-needed pace, penetration and quality after a lamentable first half when Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked horribly short and United gifted Burnley the lead with Romelu Lukaku again showcasing his alternative approach to defending his own area.
The Belgium striker had helped City score both of their goals in United’s recent derby defeat and almost gifted Bournemouth another.
It was much the same here when he failed to clear his lines from Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s free-kick to allow Barnes to fire home. There was nothing fortuitous about Burnley’s second goal, though, when Defour was fouled by Young and then sent a 25-yard free-kick flying into the top corner. Burnley required Ben Mee to clear off the line from Marcus Rashford but United needed some impetus.
Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo, both short of fitness after returning from knee injuries suffered in April, were jettisoned at half-time and the uplift was striking. Nemanja Matic dropped into defence as Mourinho threw caution to the wind.
Lingard should have scored almost immediately but Nick Pope thwarted him from close range from Young’s cross. The England forward was clinical, however, the next time Young drilled in a cross at his feet.
Using the pace of the ball, Lingard opened his body just enough to flick a nonchalant back-heel into the far bottom corner. It was an exquisite finish from a player in fine form. It would become a disjointed, stop-start game thereafter, with Atkinson constantly reaching into his pocket, but eventually United’s pressure told, even if they had fashioned very few clear-cut chances before Lingard claimed his second.
Dyche was unhappy Sam Vokes was penalised for a perceived foul on Phil Jones. Juan Mata sent in the free-kick, Young shot’s was blocked by the knees of Ben Mee and the ball bounced into the path of Lingard, who ruthlessly fired home into the bottom corner for his sixth goal in seven matches.
Player ratings
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 6; Young 7, Jones 6, Rojo 5 (Lingard ht 8), Shaw 7; Pogba 6, Matic 6; Mata 6, Ibrahimovic 4 (Mkhitaryan ht), Rashford 6; Lukaku 6.
Burnley (4-4-1-1): Pope 7; Bardsley 6, Long 7, Mee 7, Taylor 6; Gudmundsson 7, Cork 7, Defour 7 (Vokes 67), Arfield 6; Hendrick 6; Barnes 7 (Walters 80).
Full time - it ends 2-2!
What a finish that was, with United desperately fighting for an equaliser, but Burnley have hung on and take a point away from Old Trafford, although given their position at half time, they'll be hugely disappointed with that result.
Massive credit to them for going at United and taking a two-goal lead, but you also have to praise the ethic and belief of Jose Mourinho's side to fight their way back into the match. Incredible stuff!
48 mins
The volume is increasing at Old Trafford as United start at breakneck speed.
Mkhitaryan charges into Mee and concedes a free-kick. Mee doesn't look to comfortable and walks off gingerly after treatment. Burnley have no other central defender on the bench. Mee eventually jogs back on. United might look to target him.
Half time
What a half for Burnley. They go in two goals up but that does flatter them. United have had the better chances and more of them, but for once David De Gea hasn't been on top of his game and Burnley have taken advantage.
Playing Ibra through the middle and Lukaku out to the right hasn't been terrible but I would expect Mourinho to change it in some way before long.
29 mins
Barnes is doing a thankless job up front for Burnley. He's being expected to control long balls, hold them up under plenty of pressure, find a team-mate and then latch onto their return passes. He does exactly that, before Arfield sends one for Barnes to chase down the right, but it's a really poor ball and they must start again.
19 mins
Arfield takes young down on the edge of the Burnley box, on the right-hand side, handing Unied a decent chance to put the ball into the box. It's overhit, though, and Zlatan goes and picks it up. Phil Bardsley, formerly of United, goes flying into the Swede and is really lucky to avoid a yellow.
12 mins
Burnley are just such an underrated team. They pass the ball around brilliantly in the final third - all one- and two-touch, and it ends with Scott Arfield darting off the left to meet Gudmundsson's cross and volley high at goal. It clips the top of the crossbar and goes over. Another warning for United, who have got to wake up.
GOOOOOAALL! What a start for Burnley! 0-1 (Barnes)
Marcos Rojo shows the weakness in United's makeshift defence today by taking out Jeff Hendrick as he tries to motor past him on the left, and he earns himself a yellow card.
Gudmundsson takes the free kick, United fail to clear, it falls in the box and Barnes is fastest to react and he slams home from close range!
Juan to watch out for
Juan Mata was in fine form at Leicester in midweek, and he was incredibly unlucky not to be on the winning side. He scored twice and this could well be the start of another purple patch for the little Spanish wizard. Keep an eye on him today
James Ducker's prediction for today
He's going for a draw!
Burnley have beaten Chelsea and Everton on their travels this season and claimed draws at Spurs and Liverpool so they have form for upsetting the established elite. United now trail leaders Manchester City by 13 points and can ill afford any more setbacks with the title already slipping away.
Manchester Utd 1 Burnley 1
United team news is in...
Ibrahimovic, Rashford AND Lukaku all start.
Zlatan will be making his first Premier League start of the season while United make two changes to the side that drew with Leicester as Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw come in.
Victor Lindelof and Jesse Lingard are the players dropping to the bench. Chris Smalling, who picked up an injury late on in that dramatic finale at the King Power Stadium is not in the matchday squad.
Mata tells United to stay calm
Juan Mata says Manchester United need to keep calm and kick on after another frustrating late slip-up threatened to throw their festive schedule off kilter.
Burnley arrive at Old Trafford with Jose Mourinho's men reeling from back-to-back disappointments, kicked off by Bristol City knocking the holders out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
That stoppage-time winner was compounded by another late goal as Harry Maguire snatched Leicester a 2-2 draw at the death on Saturday to leave United 13 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City over Christmas.
There is no time to wallow in self-pity, though, as the games come thick and fast, with the Boxing Day visit of Burnley swiftly followed by another home match against Southampton and a trip to Everton on New Year's Day.
"You have to keep going and especially in Christmas time," Mata said. "You play every two or three days and obviously now we feel frustrated and angry.
"But we need to keep going and, from (Christmas Eve), rest and think about the next game - obviously with the will of finishing the game with a much better feeling."
United's players looked ashen-faced as they traipsed onto the bus at Leicester, where they were on course for a comeback win after Mata's first top-flight brace since March 2015 cancelled out Jamie Vardy's opener.
The visitors had a number of chances to put the game to bed, but a lack of killer instinct - an all common theme last season - cost them maximum points.
Mourinho criticised his side's "childish" display after what felt like a pre-Christmas defeat for United.
"We didn't kill it - and we should have killed it," Mata said. "It's easy to say now.
"If we instead of drawing win at the end, we would have been saying that it was a fantastic game, that we came back and we did the most difficult thing which is to score twice after they went ahead.
"But that's football, you know, and in the last second they put the ball into the box and they scored.
"But we have the feeling that we should have killed the game before.
"It feels like a defeat. We get a point but it feels like a defeat because we were so close to winning and we had a chance to kill the game.
"They were with one less player (after Daniel Amartey was sent off) so it feels like a defeat."
United will still be without a string of first-team players as they look to get back to winning ways.
Michael Carrick and Maroaune Fellaini have been ruled out of the festive period, while Antonio Valencia has been struggling with a hamstring injury of late.
Eric Bailly is sidelined after ankle surgery and an unspecified injury meant versatile full-back Matteo Darmian missed the draw at Leicester, where Chris Smalling received a knock late in proceedings.