Manchester United were jeered by their own supporters as Burnley registered their first ever Premier League win at Old Trafford with a 2-0 victory.
Burnley took the lead just before half-time when Chris Wood spun off Harry Maguire to meet Ben Mee’s knockdown and smash into the top corner from the edge of the six-yard box.
Jay Rodriguez doubled the Clarets’ advantage when he played a one-two with Wood before firing into the top corner of David de Gea’s near post with a venomous strike from the left-hand corner of the penalty area.
It was the third season in a row Burnley had gone 2-0 up at Old Trafford, but for the first time they hung on for all three points.
United, who were without the injured Marcus Rashford, were lacklustre for large periods and barely threatened Nick Pope in the Burnley goal.
They were booed off at half-time and full-time and large parts of the ground emptied with five minutes left.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side remain six points behind Chelsea and off the top four, while Burnley climb to 13th, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Martial spurns opportunity
A lot of pre-match conversation was focused on how United would cope without Rashford, who is sidelined for at least six weeks with a stress fracture of the back.
That gave an opportunity to Anthony Martial to stake his claim to be United’s long-term number nine, but the Frenchman looked off the pace throughout and wasted two good first-half opportunities from Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross and Nemanja Matic’s throughball.
Solskjaer turned to 18-year-old Mason Greenwood at half-time, and the teenager at least showed glimpses of his potential with a brilliant turn past Charlie Taylor followed by a driving run and shot which went just wide.
However, the fact Solskjaer is regularly turning to a teenager in a desperate attempt to turn around games is a damning indictment of the quality of his squad, and could prompt United to act in the final nine days of the transfer window.
Burnley back to vintage selves
Burnley’s second-half display in their 2-1 win over Champions League-chasing Leicester on Sunday signalled a return to the grit and character that has been the Clarets’ blueprint since they returned to the top flight in 2016.
There was more of the same in Manchester on Wednesday as Wood and Rodriguez showed the ruthlessness up front the east Lancashire side have sorely missed at times this season.
Behind the front two it was a disciplined and well-organised display, with Mee and James Tarkowski superb at the heart of defence, married with a tenacious midfield display from Jack Cork and Ashley Westwood.
Back-to-back wins mean Burnley move level on points with 10th-placed Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Everton and Newcastle – all five teams locked on 30 points.
