quinta-feira, 23 de janeiro de 2020

Analysis: Burnley stun Manchester United with heroic Old Trafford performance

A breakdown of how the Clarets stunned Old Trafford with a defensive masterclass as United yet again showed their inability to create chances.


Ben Mee knocked down a header from a Kieron Westwood free-kick that found an unmarked Chris Wood who smashed in at the near post just before the interval. 
Jay Rodriguez hit a rocket past a helpless David De Gea shortly after half-time to seal the win and shock Old Trafford.
  • Wood and Rodriguez Partnership

Both strikers were crucial to the goals that got Burnley all three points. More importantly, this is Burnley's first win against the 'big six' this season having lost seven of their last eight meetings against those teams.
Rodriguez and Wood linked up brilliantly for the second goal with Wood playing a one-two with Rodriguez before he fired an absolute belter past the Manchester United keeper. Could Rodriguez be the perfect alternative to Ashley Barnes when he is out of the squad?
This will leave very little room for back-up striker Matej Vydra who has only found football in the cup this season. He isn't likely to remain in the plans of Sean Dyche so he might have to go elsewhere to get any football for the remainder of this season.
  • Playing into Burnley's hands

United kept putting balls in the air whenever they crossed into the box and it was like food and drink for James Tarkowski and Mee who just headed it away every time with ease.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams were the full-backs that started for United this game and they failed to pick out any players in the box consistently. They had to pull the ball back when crossing to avoid the tall defenders that Burnley had back and yet they continued to lift the ball.
Luke Shaw was brought on at half-time and the delivery didn't change one bit, it remained poor for the remainder of the game. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will need new tactics in place to deal with teams like Burnley who sit back and hit you on the counter.
Mee and Tarkowski picked up on the fact that United didn't have an outlet upfront and couldn't hold the ball up. The Clarets regained possession every time United hit the ball to Anthony Martial and then again with Mason Greenwood. 
Martial and Greenwood are players that like the ball to feet and balls in the air played to the pair's weaknesses and United couldn't create big chances with that type of football.
  • Do United need more strikers?

Mee and Tarkowski bullied Martial all game who was supposed to be supported by Juan MataAndreas Pereira and Daniel James. Martial wasn't a natural forward and it was evident to see with his poor hold-up play.
The game could've been so different if United's midfielders supported the forwards and they could take a page out of Burnley's book here. Westwood and Jeff Hendrick were always supporting Wood and Rodriguez giving them great service and making runs after giving them the ball.
Marcus Rashford is pivotal to this team and without him, there is a lack of goals and creativity in this side. They had more possession and shots but they still couldn't penetrate Burnley's defence.
The whole team was static and Burnley were consistently moving which United couldn't deal with. Burnley will gain momentum now after their heroics tonight and against Leicester City last weekend.
Dyche's men have two wins in two and are in pole position to finish mid-table this season and as for United, they need more attacking players this window if they want any chance of getting into the top four or even winning the UEFA Europa League this season.

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