Manchester United Beat Burnley 3-2 At Old Trafford
Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes kept his nerve to convert an injury-time penalty and give Ruben Amorim’s side a priceless victory against Burnley at Old Trafford.
United’s continuing goalkeeping woes looked set to cost them three points after another blunder from Altay Bayindir gifted Jaidon Anthony a second equaliser of the day for the Clarets.
But Anthony went from hero to villain for Scott Parker’s men as the contest entered stoppage time.
Trying to halt Amad’s run into the penalty area, Anthony grabbed the Ivorian’s shirt. At first the contact was outside the box, but it continued as Amad ran into it.
Although referee Sam Barrott initially waved away the penalty claims, video assistant referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell asked for the official to review his decision.
It took Barrott four minutes to give the penalty, announce his decision to the crowd and clear the penalty area of Burnley players.
Fernandes – who missed from the spot at Fulham six days earlier – kept his cool before taking a deep breath and finding the bottom corner.
It was totally in keeping with the way this season has started for United that some good news was almost immediately followed by a hefty dollop of bad.
There were only three minutes between Casemiro’s header hitting Josh Cullen as it came off the crossbar and Matheus Cunha facing an extended period on the sidelines.
Chasing a long ball downfield, the £62.5m summer signing from Wolves pulled up holding his hamstring. He immediately signalled he had to come off and after the briefest of checks, headed straight to the dressing rooms.
Watching on from his technical area, Amorim had to stop himself from sending a nearby bottle of water careering down the touchline in frustration.
It is two weeks before United play again but their next opponents are Manchester City and Chelsea, with Liverpool not that long after that.
The injury could also have consequences for Mainoo’s desire to leave on loan.
Amorim had been pretty firm in his view Mainoo should stay. Given he ended up introducing him at half-time to allow skipper Fernandes to play further forward, that resolve is unlikely to have been weakened.
That is not the only issue facing Amorim, though.
Talks with Royal Antwerp over their goalkeeper Senne Lammens are at an advanced stage, and on the evidence of the past week a signing in that department is essential.
On Wednesday, Andre Onana gifted League Two Grimsby a goal in their momentous EFL Cup triumph over Amorim’s side at Blundell Park.
Today it was Bayindir’s turn as he tried – and failed – to catch Loum Tchaouna’s shot midway through the second half.
In his desperate bid to catch the ball, the Turkey international only succeeded in sending it on to Anthony, whose shot struck Mainoo and then Bayindir again before ending up in the net.
It looked as though it would be so costly for Amorim and his team – just because it wasn’t doesn’t mean it can be ignored.
If there are positives, clearly one comes through the result. The other is the performance of Bryan Mbeumo, who has settled in brilliantly after his £65m move from Brentford and had the distinction of becoming the first player from Amorim’s squad to score in the Premier League as he swept home Diogo Dalot’s cross.