Jamie Jackson's match report
Jamie’s account of the game has landed, which is my cue to bow out. Thanks for your company, correspondence and exasperated responses to the TV commentary in America. The MBM will be back tomorrow for some local derby or other in Greater London.
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“Hannibal did a perfect job,” says Ten Hag. Yes, he was very good. He’s an interesting combination, hurtling into every tackle but taking his time when picking a pass.
Erik ten Hag is asked what was the key to the win. “I think team spirit,” he says. “Following the rules and being disciplined.”
And the goal? “Oh, it was a brilliant goal.”
They’re showing his assist again. The pass was so well judged, with just then right amount of backspin. “We made a bit of eye contact,” Evans says, “just before I got the ball.”
“It’s good,” says Rio Ferdinand, “that at that age you can still see that far.” The acceptable face of mateyness.
There’s no stopping Jonny Evans. He’s now giving another interview. “I loved every minute,” he says, with a smile as wide as the Irish Sea.
The upshot is … Burnley are bottom of the table, as their goal difference is -9, one worse than Luton’s. And Man United are out of the bottom half! With nine points from six games, they rocket from 13th to eighth. Which is where they used to finish when I was little.
There’s a stack of emails waiting unopened, sorry. Here’s one that still holds good. “Every time I watch this new-look Burnley,” says Alexandra Ashton, “the player that impresses me most is young (19!) Koleosho. I’ve just learned he’d only made six appearances in his entire career before joining Burnley, straight into the Premiership. He has a very bright future ahead of him indeed.” He does. Tonight his movement and dribbling were outstanding, his crosses not so much.
A mournful fact.
Between them, Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton won 78 league games last season and have won none so far this season.
— Richard Jolly 🇺🇦 (@RichJolly) September 23, 2023
Fernandes is given the player of the match award, and he hands it to Evans. He is almost a great captain. He just needs to calm down with the refs, not that that was a problem tonight.
Evans and Fernandes are now being interviewed. “Tough place to come,” says Evans. “We had to be at our best.”
“Great pass,” says Fernandes. “I knew he could do this pass so I was waiting for him… We knew we could stop the momentum. The team has great spirit, great players. We sacrificed a lot because Burnley play great football – really tough to play against them. So we are really happy for the points.”
Burnley, so promising but so young, were unlucky, but they were beaten by the experience of United’s senior players. Jonny Evans played a wonder-ball over everyone, and Bruno Fernandes volleyed it home with great technique and composure. It wasn’t quite Wayne Rooney to Robin van Persie, but it was close. As was the game.
FULL TIME! Burnley 0-1 Man United
And that’s it!
90+4 min Amrabat’s first notable contribution is a foul in a dangerous zone on the right. The player of the match, which would surely have been Ramsey in the first half, ends up going to Bruno Fernandes.
90+2 min We’re having only four minutes’ added time – old school. Dalot crosses, softly for once, and Fernandes improvises a flick to get the ball on target, if not bothering Trafford much. That may mean that United win the shots-on-target contest 4-3.
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90 min It’s been all Burnley but now United break as Hannibal releases Fernandes down the left. He cuts in, takes his time, plays a stylish reverse pass to Hojlund, whose shot is blocked.
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89 min A United debut for Sofyan Amrabat.
87 min Kompany uses his last subbing opportunity, bringing on Benson Manuel. He is instantly busy, jinking and linking, but when he has a shot, he sends it into Row Z.
86 min McTominay finds himself on the right wing and digs out a good cross from the byline, which nobody can get on the end of.
85 min Chance for United! On the counter as Hannibal uses the outside of his right foot to send Rashford away. He twists and turns and gets a shot in eventually, but it’s blocked.
82 min Onana makes his first misjudgment of the night, coming for a corner and not reaching the ball. He gets away with it as the header bobbles up over the bar. It’s Lindelof, by the way, who has stepped up as United’s 25th-choice left-back.
“Man Utd fan here,” says Francis Mead. "It looks like there’s something seriously wrong. The team doesn’t believe in the system of play – or they don’t want to play for Ten Hag. We are a bad side at the moment. Rashford blatantly stops chasing his man and allows a chance. What the hell is going on?”
80 min This should be a chance for Fernandes, in space on the right, to add a second – but he doesn't touch the ball because Hojlund makes the wrong choice, going left to Rashford.
78 min In the past five minutes, Burnley’s share of the ball has gone from the dominant to the ridiculous: 90 per cent. A fine cross comes in from the right now and brings a corner on the left.
Reguilon goes off, Varane is on, so Evans may be the left-back now. His scriptwriter is on fire.
75 min Larsen races into the box and Burnley want a penalty, which they’re not getting – check complete. Onana and Evans collided with each other, I think, as they raced to deal with him. Both were on the floor, but they’re up and about now.
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72 min Jay Rodriguez replaces Zeki Amdouni up front. Koleosho and Ramsey also go off, and on come Sander Berge and Jacob Bruun Larsen. Still no subs from Ten Hag.
72 min Ramsey wins a free kick off Lindelof, 35 yards out. Burnley have three subs lined up…
71 min We’re past the moment when Erik ten Hag usually makes a couple of changes, so he must be quite pleased with his reshaped XI.
69 min United are threatening more now, with Casemiro, gloves and all, getting further forward. And why not? He’s their leading scorer this season with three goals.
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67 min Roberts bursts into space and gets a cross in, which Lindelof has to hoof into the crowd. When Burnley do manage a decent cross, there’s nobody there in the middle to convert it. But they still look as if they have a goal in them.
66 min Another bright Burnley move perishes because the cross from Koleosho goes straight into the arms of Onana. I don’t want to put a jinx on Onana, but he’s been flawless so far tonight.
64 min Jay Rodriguez is about to come on. He has four goals against United – the Pascal Gross of the north.
63 min Rashford and Hojlund combine to set up another good cross from Dalot. It finds McTominay on the edge of the box, but his shot is easily saved by Trafford.
61 min The game slips past the hour mark as a better cross from Dalot is well blocked by Jordan Beyer.
58 min The impressive Koleosho has oodles of time to cross from the right, but picks out Onana.
58 min United manage an attack. Fernandes chips the ball to Rashford, who heads down for Hojlund, but he is well policed. It might have been more fruitful if it had been Hojlund heading down for Rashford.
56 min Sergio Regiuilon demands a yellow for a Burnley foul and gets one himself. United have only two full-backs in their squad, and both are now one false move away from being sent off.
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55 min In fact, it’s like the first half, only more so: possession since half-time has been 73-27. It wouldn’t have happened in Sean Dyche’s day.
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53 min The game has settled back into its familiar shape – Burnley passing, United scrapping.
51 min Half-chance for United: Dalot crosses, low and hard, too hard for Hojlund. “Great cross,” says Ally McCoist, who may not have seen how often Dalot overhits it.
49 min A stat box reveals that United, when winning at half-time, have gone unbeaten for 136 PL games, winning 117 of them. I wouldn’t be so sure.
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47 min Burnley play it around at the back, then finally get forward and win a free kick as Casemiro lunges in, not that anyhing comes of it.
46 min Vincent Kompany strides to his seat in his baseball cap. Gareth Southgate is here too, by the way.
“Well,” says Adam Hirst in Rio, “I told you so about Evans’ long balls! Great stuff.” You certainly did (19:51).
A goal worth seeing.
WHAT A FINISH FROM BRUNO FERNANDES! 🤩
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 23, 2023
Manchester United take the lead against Burnley thanks to a brilliant assist from Jonny Evans and an even better finish from Bruno! pic.twitter.com/qMdAxzZGwO
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And 1 disallowed goal.
Jonny Evans’ first half by numbers vs. Burnley:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 23, 2023
96% pass accuracy
56 touches
45/47 passes completed
6 clearances
1 key pass
1 assist
Sublime pass to Bruno. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/FbPyqQA4XU
“Even this early in the season,” says Justin Kavanagh, “there’s nothing like a relegation six-pointer under the lights to warm the heart as winter nears.” Good line.
HALF-TIME! Burnley 0-1 United
Call the police, Aaron Ramsey has been robbed. He’s been the star of the show, just ahead of Jonny Evans. But his elegant craftsmanship hasn’t produced a goal, so Fernandes’ Goal of the Month contender is the difference between the sides. See you shortly.
45+3 min United are great ones for conceding straight after they’ve scored, but now they threaten to score another. Evans to Fernandes again! The same ball, except right-footed; the same run, except that this time Fernandes squares for Hojlund, who shoots over the bar – and is offside anyway.
45+2 min That was harsh on Burnley.
GOAL! Burnley 0-1 United (Fernandes 45)
Evans’s scriptwriter is back! He floats a long ball forward, left-footed, and Fernandes volleys it immaculately into the far corner. That was almost in the Rooney-van Persie class.
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43 min Save! By Onana from Ramsey.
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41 min The crowd roar for a penalty as Koleosho makes a great mazy run. Tony Harrington is unmoved and United go on the counter, but Fernandes’ touch is too heavy.
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39 min Burnley threaten as Connor Roberts goes on the overlap and crosses, twice. Both times the ball is cleared by Evans, who is showing no sign of rust.
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Please keep up the great MBM. Those of us watching the match on Peacock in the USA are suffering about a 30 second delay between video and sound.
— James Wiley (@wileyjames) September 23, 2023
37 min United have succeeded in that modest aim: the possession now divides 58-42.
35 min United try to get their possession percentage over 40. The game slows down, allowing me to observe that Casemiro is wearing gloves. Magnificent.
35 min Burnley, a stat box informs us, have the youngest team in the Premier League this season, just ahead of Arsenal.
33 min Burnley win a corner, then another. Fernandes hacks the second one away.
31 min Evans, back in the United box, pours his frustration into a thumping header to see off the danger from Charlie Taylor’s cross. Burnley, conducted by Ramsey, are playing some good tunes.
29 min Hojlund gets a shot away, into the side netting, but there was a better opening a moment earlier, on the break, which he bungled by dithering.
28 min United hardly ever score from corners. It was curled in nicely by Reguilon and Evans made a canny move away from goal, just a yard or so, before twisting to nod it in.
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GOAL DISALLOWED! Burnley 0-0 United
26 min Poor old Evans, but that’s fair enough. The keeper was being impeded.
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25 min Hang on, the VAR is on the case, looking into offside against Hojlund…
GOAL!!!! Burnley 0-1 United (Evans)
Who writes his scripts?
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23 min Fernandes finds Hannibal in his own usual position – in space, behind the striker – but Hannibal’s ball doesn’t find Hojlund on the right. Fernandes does well again a minute later and wins a corner …
20 min Trésor has gone on to the left wing, with Luca Koleosho switching to the right. They are spectators for now as United have a spell of possession.
20 min Gudmundsson, Burney’s father of the house, is going off with an injury. He gives way to Mike Trésor, who has arrived from Genk bearing a killer stat: last season he got 24 assists.
16 min Huge chance for Burnley! Ramsey plays a gorgeous through ball to Amdouni, who beats Onana with a low shot, but hits the post.
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16 min The two best players on the field sop far have been Rashford and Ramsey, who has the chutzpah to nutmeg McTominay.
14 min A Burnley surge down the left this time draws a foul from Diogo Dalot, who goes into the book. And United have nobody to replace him with.. At a pinch, Lindelof could go to right-back and Varane could come on. But Burley are doing well enough down the flanks against specialist full-backs.
11 min Hannibal, sent through by Rashford, bursts into the box and flicks back towards Hojlund, who can’t pounce on the half-chance. It will be astonishing if this game remains goalless.
9 min Onana saves United! Lovely move from Burnley, getting in behind down the right. The cross finds Zeki Amdouni, whose fine downward header brings out the Gordon Banks in Onana. A much better start than he made in Munich.
9 min Onana goes long to Hojlund – more Burnley than Burnley.
7 min Chance for United! Rashford slips in Fernandes, whose decent left-foot shot is saved.
“Night is darkest before dawn,” says Pramith Pillai. “Let’s hope Man Utd is closer to dawn than dusk. I have stopped following all United news, analysis, articles etc. Now I hear that unnamed sources don’t like his management. If ETH doesn’t work out, no one would.”
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3 min Burnley get down the right and into the United area but the cross is easily held by André Onana. It looks as if United are playing with the midfield diamond – Casemiro at the base, Fernandes and McTominay in front of him, Hannibal at the tip.
1 min United attack! They pounce with the press and Rashford ends up shooting into the side netting.
1 min Burnley kick off and string some passes together. They’re in claret and blue, United in all white.
The players are out there and the crowd are making so much noise that you wonder if the capacity is really only 21,000.
“The lesser spotted van de Beek is in the Man Utd squad,” says Richard Hirst. “Will he remember which team he is part of?”
Ha. As an alumnus of total football, he may have to come on as a full-back: the only defender on the United bench is Raphael Varane.
This is Jonny Evans’s first United start since March 2015, according to The Athletic. His first full debut for United was in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in September 2008. He’s gone from deputising for Nemanja Vidic to deputising for Lisandro Martinez. He joined United’s centre of excellence in Belfast in 1997, when he was nine. He is now 35 and has an MBE.
An email has landed, all the way from Rio. “Evening Mr de Lisle!” Evening Mr Adam Hirst. “Mr Smyth next door has James Garner playing well, a United junior who should never have left and was good enough to be a decent squad option.” You’re so right.
“Same for Johnny Evans, so I’m happy to see him back and starting. Hopefully he still has his great long passes out wide, like Scholes + 20 yards.” Isn’t that the keeper’s job these days?
Burnley have a problem they may not have seen coming. Everton have leapt out of the bottom three. Their win at Brentford lifts them to the heady heights of 16th and means that, for now, the three promoted clubs are stranded at the bottom on one point apiece.
Burnley, though, have a game in hand: this one. And they may be inspired by Everton’s triumph, which is the first win by any of the bottom seven against one of the 13 clubs higher up – at the 36th attempt. The other two wins achieved by the not-so-magnificent seven, which went to Chelsea and Wolves, both came against fellow strugglers.
United, by the way, are bottom of the top 13, with six points from five games.
Erik ten Hag doesn’t like surprises, but he has sprung a few tonight. Evans starting, Eriksen dropped, Mejbri starting, McTominay recalled. If Eriksen is being punished for failing to shield the defence in Munich, McTominay seems to be being forgiven for the same offence. He, or Casemiro, may well give way to Sofyan Amrabat after an hour.
News round-up
Luton picked up their first point, against Wolves. Harry Kane scored a hat-trick for Bayern, plus two assists. Man City showed that they can keep a clean sheet even when they play half the game with ten men.
More unexpectedly, Everton are on course for an away win! At Brentford. Do follow the obligatory 11 six minutes of added time with Rob Smyth.
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Teams in full
Burnley (possible 4-2-3-1) Trafford; Roberts, Al Dakhil, Beyer, Taylor; Cullen, Brownhill; Gudmundsson, Ramsey, Koleosho; Amdouni.
Subs: Muric, Delcroix, Cork, Ndayishimiye, Berge, Zaroury, Bruun Larsen, Benson, Rodriguez.
Man Utd (possible 4-D-2) Onana; Dalot, Lindelof, Evans, Reguilon; Casemiro, McTominay, Mejbri, Fernandes; Hojlund, Rashford.
Subs: Bayindir, Varane, Gore, Amrabat, Eriksen, van de Beek, Pellistri, Martial, Garnacho.
Referee Tony Harrington.
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Teams in brief: Aaron Ramsey comes in
Why change a drawing team? Vincent Kompany keeps faith with ten of the starters from the 1-1 at Forest. His only change is an enforced one, as Aaron Ramsey replaces the suspended Lyle Foster in the hole.
Teams in brief: a start for Jonny Evans!
Lisandro Martinez isn’t in the squad, nor is Harry Maguire, and Raphael Varane is only reckoned to be fit enough for the bench… so heeeeere’s Jonny.
Also starting: Hannibal Mejbri, in place of Facundo Pellistri. Erik ten Hag is either going back to the diamond that gleamed for 20 minutes against Brighton, then shattered, or he’s putting Bruno Fernandes out on the right.
Preamble: the difficult second album
Evening everyone and welcome to what could be a comedy classic. The plot goes like this: a famous old club with no points at home this season entertains an even more famous old club with no points away.
No other Premier League team have leaked goals on their own patch like Burnley (11 in three games), and only Luton have done worse on the road than Manchester United (played two, lost two). So we’re about to see what happens when a resistible force meets a movable object.
For Burnley, this should be their easiest home fixture so far after the stern examinations set by Man City, Villa and Spurs. Vincent Kompany’s forwards have been getting better at finding the net – from no goals to one, then two – while the defence has gone the other way by shipping three, three and five.
For United, what should be a walk in the park is now a squeak in the bum. They’ve lost four of their first six matches and looked shaky in the other two, which turns a tussle like this into a cup tie. Faced with four medium-sized league games before the big one against City in a month’s time, they have to win at least three of them.
If they can score three times at Bayern, they should be able to brush Burnley aside. Rasmus Hojlund, especially, seems like the sort of character who can do it on a noisy Saturday night at Turf Moor. The problem is that United have not just a catalogue of injuries but a mystery malaise.
Erik ten Hag, like Kompany but more so, has gone from an assured debut to the difficult second album. He’s been blaming everyone but himself – the players, the refs, the VARs. Some of his squad have been anonymously blaming him back, making it clear that Jadon Sancho is not alone in feeling that Ten Hag’s finger-pointing can be unfair. It will be interesting to see if he makes an example of anyone tonight.
The kick-off is at 8pm BST, so I’ll see you soon after 7 with the team news.
