Manchester United moved up to sixth in the Premier League thanks to a 3-1 victory over struggling Burnley at Old Trafford on December 30 (Thursday) to sustain their unbeaten start under interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Man United bagged a 3-0 lead within 35 minutes and although Aaron Lennon pulled one back for the visitors, United are now four points off fourth-placed Arsenal with still a game in hand.
Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed the third of United’s first-half goals, tapping into an empty net in the 35th minute after midfielder Scott McTominay’s long-range shot was tipped onto the post by Burnley custodian Wayne Hennessey.
McTominay learning and adapting
“We are learning and adapting,” the Scotland midfielder McTominay’s said after the match. “The game against Newcastle was difficult and we had to bounce back from that.
“The manager said we set the record for the most amount of turnovers in the league. We had to keep the ball better.”
Manager Rangnick said after the match, "Was the first half the best since came to club? I would say offensively yes. Whenever we had the ball in their half we did the things we intended to do, finding the right spots and spaces, taking on players in one on one situations.”
"After the first goal, we scored we had control but then we gave away one goal. Whenever the ball was in our half there is still space for improvement but offensively that was so far the best performance.
Fresh legs and fresh energy
"It was about fresh legs, fresh energy, fresh bodies, more physicality against this team. We knew how difficult they would be, how persistent they would play and it was a little bit of a war of attrition, a little bit of a difficult one to play. Therefore, it was important to me to have six fresh players on the pitch compared to the game at Newcastle.
"In the end, it paid off. It was the right players in the right positions. For me, it was important to have every player in his best possible position. That's why we decided to play Jadon [Sancho] from the left and Mason [Greenwood] from the right and the two strikers up front and we decided to play the two sixes as they did.
"We had Nemanja [Matic] in the team as a sort of quarter-back player who can also calm the game down and play the passes from that position. Scotty [McTominay], again, his energy on the pitch is contagious in a positive way. That was an extremely good performance by Scotty today,” Rangnick added.
