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Manchester United traveled to Turf Moor to take on Burnley in their first match since the seismic decision to sack Ruben Amorim.
Darren Fletcher took the lead and reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Senne Lammens started in goal, with Luke Shaw at left back and Ayden Heaven and Lisandro Martinez formed the central defensive duo. Diogo Dalot started as right back.
Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte started in midfield, while Bruno Fernandes returned to his familiar number ten role after injury. Matheus Cunha and Patrick Dorgu started on either side of Benjamin Sesko in a three-man attack.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
Ayden Heaven is unlucky again
Heaven has had an impressive month at the center of United’s defence.
He stood up to Newcastle United admirably and played well beyond his age and experience. Nevertheless, he was unlucky in his line-up against Leeds United, which resulted in their goal, and was also very unlucky tonight.
Burnley opened the scoring after a cross from Heaven unfortunately ended up in the net via a stranded Lammens.
The youngster is so talented that most fans will have no problem putting up with these growing pains, but it hasn’t been a classic week for the youngster by any means.
Bruno Fernandes is essential
United missed Fernandes for three games over Christmas, and it showed.
The Portuguese was clearly not at his best after returning from injury, but that wasn’t necessary. His beautiful pass to Sesko allowed the Slovenian to crash in the equalizer and loosen a tight Burnley defence.
Fernandes also produced a beautiful ball in the first half, which almost allowed Dorgu to score his second goal of the season. United fans will be hoping their maestro can stay fit in the coming months to boost their Champions League hopes.
Sesko gets his goal
The Slovenian has struggled in front of goal and missed some glorious opportunities to score over the Christmas period.
He was also wasteful in the first half, but his moment came early in the second half. The striker grabbed a great ball from his captain to put away his first goal since October.
Sesko scored his second on the hour mark when he expertly finished Dorgu’s inch-perfect cross to put his side ahead. The young striker still has a lot to prove, but tonight’s show will certainly silence some of his doubters.
Defensive weaknesses must be resolved now
United dominated the match and had many more chances than their hosts.
After falling behind unluckily, they fought their way back to take the lead. However, as has happened regularly this season, they have thrown away their lead by defending carelessly.
Whoever takes over at United in the long term, fixing a leaky defense will be one of their top priorities.
Casemiro is a problem
The Brazilian started the season quite well, but his form has fallen off a cliff of late.
The worst of Casemiro was on display tonight as he was late to the ball and regularly missed tackles. His defensive positioning was completely at sea at times as he couldn’t keep up with the game.
The former Real Madrid man was also poor on the ball and often wasted possession in key areas. If he wants to have a future at the club after the summer, he will have to change his form drastically.
Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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