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Manchester United are leaders of the Premier League and for this they can thank Paul Pogba, whose influence grew after the break, and the midfielder capped his performance with a sweet goal on 71 minutes. This happened when Bruno Fernandes found Marcus Rashford down the right and crossed for Pogba to do so with a volley that beat Nick Pope through a deflection from Matthew Lowton.
The victory means that United reach 36 points and surpass Liverpool, with 33, after 17 games; this was last achieved after the same number of games by beating Sunderland 3-1 on December 15, 2012 with Sir Alex Ferguson.
United’s rebound in fortunes under Ole Gunnar Solskjær is further underlined by the 33-point swing they have engineered over Liverpool on their visit to Anfield on Sunday: Before the corresponding game last season, United were to 27 points.
United embarked on the trend of overtaking Liverpool with close to their strongest eleven. This saw Edinson Cavani regain the center-forward position after a three-game suspension, Eric Bailly went into shape to start a fourth consecutive league outing and Paul Pogba joined Nemanja Matic in midfield. Burnley started with Ashley Barnes beating Bailly under a high ball – a first glimpse of a recurring tactic of theirs. Having to watch United’s possession would be an issue for them too, which is why Fernandes, Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial did it for United from the start.
However, Solskjær’s men struggled to find a forceful rhythm. The attacks failed before they were built, so the contest got stuck in the middle third: precisely where Burnley wanted it. Patience, then, was definitely key for United – they had most of the ball, so it was all about figuring out how to use it.
When Fernandes, Matic and Shaw combined, the latter threw a cross from the left that Martial clinked and suddenly Fernandes saw the goal. His shot went straight into the hands of Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, but this was better from United.
Just as good was a move from the other side. This time, Rashford tapped Fernandes and Fernandes hit him behind Martial, whose aerial volley was again saved by Pope.
Complacency seemed United’s biggest threat. Fernandes fell prey to this when a hard touch allowed Lowton to steal it: Burnley advanced but Chris Wood’s attempt was blocked by Bailly. A little later, Martial fired wide when the least necessary was to hit the target.
A small contest had two moments of VAR intrigue. Shaw challenged Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Fernandes took over, connecting a 40-yard pass to Cavani, who was brought down by Robbie Brady as he approached Burnley’s area. Kevin Friend, the referee, fouled for a foul and called Brady a yellow card.
The VAR inspected both incidents and then ordered Friend to do the same on the court monitor. He did so and decided to score Brady’s reserve and instead issue Shaw a yellow card for his tackle on Gudmundsson, the left back grabbed his leg after the ball. United were upset, Burnley tried to run back downfield to take a quick free kick, but was not allowed and when he finally did take it, he was unable to capitalize. There was further confusion when a Harry Maguire header that beat Pope due to knocking Erik Pieters off the jump was ruled out. While this seemed harsh, Martial ended half by warming Pope’s fingers.
So United started the second half on level terms and thus on their way to the point required to take them over Liverpool. Burnley had offered a near-zero threat, but could still hope to score a goal and an unlikely victory.
In fact, it would have to be while United continued to dominate, a deflected shot from Fernandes that yielded a corner showing as much intent as a buccaneer wave from Pogba that scattered burgundy jerseys around him. This created space for Martial to cross from inside the Burnley area from the left. Here was the clearest opportunity of the contest: The ball approached Cavani point blank, but the normally lethal No. 7 missed and Sean Dyche’s team escaped.
The lady illustrated a lack of composure where she counted from United. Fernandes released a roller from a long distance. Martial took the ball from Cavani in the area to inadvertently frustrate the Uruguayan. The Frenchman went offside when he pounced on Pope. Then Rashford loosely unloaded at close range.
This was attack-v-defense on an almost comical level. Josh Brownhill and Ashley Westwood each drew yellows for rugby-style pull-downs, a sign of Burnley’s increasing fatigue.
