Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani all impressed as Manchester United beat Burnley 3-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday.
It was Burnley who surprisingly made the brighter start to the game, with Chris Wood finding the back of the net just 38 seconds into the game before being denied the goal by a marginal offside call. Thereafter, both Manchester United and Burnley came close to scoring, with Paul Pogba being denied by Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the best opening of the first half, while Mason Greenwood missed from close range.
The deadlock was finally broken early into the second half, when Marcus Rashford opened up play with a nice bit of skill before finding Greenwood, via a brilliant dummy by Bruno Fernandes, with the 19-year-old producing a composed finish to make it 1-0. However, Burnley pulled back on level terms moments later, as James Tarkowski headed in from a corner in the 50th minute.
It was all Manchester United after that, although they had to wait all the way till the 84th minute to grab the lead again, with Greenwood completing his brace to earn all three points for his side. And, late in the game, Edinson Cavani put the game to bed and continued United’s fine unbeaten run in the Premier League. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.
Dean Henderson: 5/10
One of the worst performances in a Manchester United shirt for Dean Henderson, who inexplicably charged off his line when it was not needed on a couple of occasions. The offside flag spared his blushes in the very first minute and there was another such instance when he smashed into Harry Maguire instead of catching the ball. Needs to address this issue when coming off his line.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 6.5/10
The best of the Manchester United defenders, Wan-Bissaka dealt with the threat of Dwight McNeil reasonably well, making as many as 6 clearances to keep the ball away from a nervy Henderson. Showed more desire than he usually does when going into the final third, delivering a couple of key passes while retaining a healthy 91 percent passing rate. Seems to be improving his crosses.
Victor Lindelof: 5/10
A difficult outing for Lindelof at the heart of the Manchester United defence, as he was targeted in the air during set-piece situations. Did not have to deal with Chris Wood a whole lot, but the fact that he won just 1 of the 7 duels he contested must be concerning. Having said that, this was a rare blip by his recent standards and the Swede will hope to do better next weekend.
Harry Maguire: 5/10
A rare game in which Maguire was overpowered in the air. The Manchester United captain lost each of his aerial duels, including the one from which Tarkowski scored for Burnley. Solid on the ground, though, winning each of his 5 ground duels while making a couple of blocks. Some moments of miscommunication with Henderson, however, which needs to be addressed.
Luke Shaw: 6/10
Chances created by Premier League defenders this season:
? Luke Shaw [61]
? Trent Alexander-Arnold [54]
? Andy Robertson [49]Man Utd’s left-back is having an outstanding campaign. ? pic.twitter.com/7wvNsb3D8T
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 18, 2021
Back in the starting lineup, this was one of the more average displays by Shaw. The confidence in his runs was not lacking, but the end product was not quite there on the day. Did play a game-high 6 key passes, but most of those were from set-pieces. Hardly tested defensively, although he did win 5 duels while completing 2 interceptions and tackles each.
Scott McTominay: 7/10
Back in the starting lineup, it was game of hits and misses for McTominay. The Scot completed 93 percent of his passes, which is quite impressive to say the least. However, he could not set a quick tempo to the game, which is an issue he must address. Worked hard off the ball, though, winning 8 duels over the course of the game. In the end, the hits outweighed the misses.
Fred: 6/10
A game in which there really was no need of someone like Fred and Solskjaer duly realised that when he took the Brazilian off at half-time for Edinson Cavani. While he completed each of his 35 attempted passes, Fred did not provide the extra creative spark that Paul Pogba did when playing from the double pivot, thereby enabling Manchester United to push more men forward.
Marcus Rashford: 8/10
Marcus Rashford’s game by numbers vs. Burnley:
81% pass accuracy
11 passes into penalty area
4/6 dribbles completed
3 chances created
1 big chance created
2 shots
1 assistSuch a joy to watch. ??? pic.twitter.com/PLM2I3icHw
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 18, 2021
Back in the starting lineup, it seemed like the rest did Rashford a world of good as he had that extra bit of energy that had been missing lately. The English international was Manchester United’s best player in the first half and continued it into the second period, when a tremendous bit of skill in the build-up to Mason Greenwood’s goal opened up play brilliantly. Took one touch too many inside the box with a shot, however.
Bruno Fernandes: 6/10
A game that saw Bruno Fernandes continue on his dry run of sorts, with Burnley frustrating him to no end. Having said that, the Portuguese playmaker showed brilliant awareness for his dummy in the build-up to Greenwood’s first goal. However, Solskjaer will hope Fernandes finds his prolific touch again, as Manchester United look to end the season on a high.
Paul Pogba: 6/10
The Player to Watch in our preview, Pogba came into the game as one of the form players for Manchester United. However, the Frenchman could not manage to influence the proceedings as well as he would have liked. Still, came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, being denied by Burnley goalkeeper Peacock-Farrell once. More expressive after moving into the double pivot.
Mason Greenwood: 9/10
Mason Greenwood has scored 15 Premier League goals since the start of last season, 9 more than any other teenager has managed in that period.
Such a special talent. ??? pic.twitter.com/OoDP8V4Jhp
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 18, 2021
Greenwood started the game as a striker, but failed to find his way into the proceedings, with Burnley’s outlook of sitting back and absorbing the pressure leaving him isolated at times, although he should have scored from Rashford’s cross closer to half-time. Moved to the right wing after the introduction of Cavani, which gave him more freedom to express himself.
That is exactly what he did with a brilliant finish for his first goal. Greenwood then scored his second late on via a deflection, but it was more than what he deserved. Finally in among the goals on a consistent basis, Greenwood is now the joint-top scoring teenager in Premier League history for Manchester United (15, level with Wayne Rooney).
Most Premier League goals scored for Man Utd before turning 20 years old:
??????? Wayne Rooney (15)
??????? Mason Greenwood (15)And Rooney went on to get 253 in total. ? pic.twitter.com/gfVSGxtvMS
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) April 18, 2021
SUBSTITUTES
Edinson Cavani: 7.5/10
A player whose introduction gave Manchester United an added dynamism they were lacking in the first half. In the process, Cavani got some much-needed rest as well. Did not see a whole lot of the ball, but his movement opened up space for Greenwood to exploit.
To cap off a solid display, Cavani scored late on, which means that only Solskjaer in 1998/99 (5) and Javier Hernandez in 2010/11 (5) have more Premier League goals as a substitute in a season for Manchester United than his four.
Edinson Cavani is the 3rd Manchester United player to reach 10+ goals this season:
?? Bruno Fernandes
??????? Marcus Rashford
?? Edinson CavaniA key contributor of late. ? pic.twitter.com/Z4HVWFqlm1
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 18, 2021
Donny van de Beek: N/A
A late introduction, birthday boy van de Beek hardly got a touch on the ball, but did provide the assist for Cavani with his only completed pass in the game. Will be yearning for minutes, though.
