Burnley vs Manchester United LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Relive all the action from Turf Moor
Manchester United dropped out of the top four as Jay Rodriguez’s 100th career league goal - and first in 50 games - earned relegation-battling Burnley a well-deserved 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.
United dominated the first half as Paul Pogba, making his first Premier League start since his red card in the 5-0 capitulation to Liverpool in October, showed flashes of his brilliant best and fired the visitors in front with 18 minutes gone.
It was one of three times United had the ball in the Burnley net in the first half, with the other two ruled out, but momentum shifted radically in the second half after Rodriguez levelled in the 47th minute with the hosts then squandering chances to win it.
Sean Dyche will see it as a hugely encouraging point but will also know his side must soon find a way to accumulate them in threes if they are to survive - Newcastle’s win over Everton meant the gap to safety increased on the night to four points.
Ralf Rangnick left Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in favour of Edinson Cavani, and pointedly said the decision was made because of the need to chase down Burnley and battle for second balls.
Dyche had promised to make it awkward for the visitors but, on the night that Burnley celebrated their 5,000th professional league game, they struggled to keep his word in the first half - allowing United too much time and space while gifting them possession.
The visitors had the ball in the net with 12 minutes gone at Turf Moor. Mike Dean blew for what was a soft foul at best on Pogba, and Bruno Fernandes whipped in the ball for Raphael Varane to head in at the far post.
United celebrated what they thought was a first goal from a set-piece this season but Dean was advised to check the pitch-side monitor. Though Varane was on, the goal was eventually ruled out as a clearly offside Harry Maguire had barged into Rodriguez as the ball came in.
It was only a temporary reprieve for Burnley. Six minutes later, Pogba left no room for debate as he thumped the ball high into the net from Luke Shaw’s pull-back after Burnley had allowed Marcus Rashford far too much space down the left.
The ball was in Burnley’s net again moments later as Ashley Westwood inadvertently poked home Rashford’s low cross, but it was quickly ruled out for a foul by Pogba on Erik Pieters in the build-up.
Burnley were left exposed down the right time after time, but United could not capitalise as the best of the chances was headed straight at Pope by Cavani.
Everything changed after the break. Burnley, whose last home league goal against United came back in 2009, did not have a shot in the first half but needed only two minutes of the second to level.
Weghorst did well to wriggle free of two defenders before turning and playing in Rodriguez, who held off Maguire before firing under David De Gea for his first league goal in 360 days.
The atmosphere changed in a moment, and Weghorst brought a fine save out of De Gea with a powerful strike from 20 yards before Pieters flashed a volley narrowly wide from the resulting corner.
United’s problems continued as Rodriguez span around Maguire, who hauled him back and was grateful to see only a yellow card.
After seeing Connor Roberts blaze over another decent chance, Rangnick sent for Ronaldo in the 67th minute.
United slowly regained some initiative - Varane’s cute drag-back was blocked by Mee in the 79th minute before Ronaldo headed over - but Burnley defended doggedly, roared on by Turf Moor, as they restored some faith after Saturday’s drab goalless draw with Watford.
Relive all the action from Turf Moor below:
Burnley vs Man Utd: Rangnick reflects on Middlesbrough defeat
Manchester United’s interim boss, Ralf Rangnick, spoke about last Friday’s FA Cup fourth round result against Middlesbrough where the Red Devils lost on a penalty shootout.
The match never should have reached that point as United created - and wasted - loads of opportunites to take the match beyond the Championship club. Rangnick said:
Yeah, the more we watched those opportunities, those chances, that we didn’t make use of, we wasted, the more incredible and cruel it became. Until yesterday, it was still difficult for everybody involved in the club to cope with it. In the end, this is football. This is what happens.
“In the end, it was us who turned it into a cup tie, in all respect of Middlesbrough, they did what they intended to do but, in the end, it was just us making sure we did not proceed safely. We should have safely proceeded into the next round.
“It could easily have been 3-0 at half-time, it should have been 3-0 at half-time but, at the end, by wasting those chances, we turned this game into a cup game.
“The second thing is maybe, in the end, we have to fault the team for is the behaviour before the handball goal we conceded. We did everything right in a perfect counter-pressing situation, halfway into their half, we just forgot to take the ball away from them. We did all the other issues that are necessary for counter-pressing, we closed down, took away time and space from them but, in the end, forgot the ball. It gave them the chance to change sides and, in eight seconds, all of a sudden, we’re down in numbers in our own box.
“Those are two issues we should have done better but, in the end, it doesn’t help. We are out of the cup, even if we watch these situations another couple of times. Now the focus has to be on the league and the Champions League.”
Burnley vs Man Utd: Dyche on building momentum
Burnley boss, Sean Dyche, wants to build on his team’s last two Premier League results - which saw the Clarets draw 0-0 with Arsenal and Watford respectively - and improve their performances so that they start winning games.
The Clarets are stuck in a relegation battle and Dyche says they’re going back to basics in the hunt for points. The Burnley manager said:
We had to get back to basics after a tough period with injuries and Covid. We did this against Arsenal, and we played a bit more open against Watford, but we still kept a clean sheet and stayed solid.
“It is developing from that and doing the basics well and introducing some freedom to our play. Of course, that sometimes comes from getting good results but you have to work hard to get results in the first place.
“We are trying to build on the basic principles that we do. We believe we will score goals even though we have not scored as many as we would have liked so far.
“The next challenge is for us to build on the strong base we have built and adding the quality needed to score goals.”
Burnley vs Man Utd: Police investigating online racial abuse of Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga
Police are investigating after Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga was subjected to online racial abuse following last week’s FA Cup loss to Middlesbrough
Elanga missed the decisive spot-kick as United were beaten on penalties by the Championship side in the fourth-round tie at Old Trafford on Friday.
Greater Manchester Police have now confirmed an investigation is under way after the 19-year-old Sweden Under-21 international received abuse via his Instagram account.
Police investigating online racial abuse of Man Utd’s Anthony Elanga
The 19-year-old missed the decisive spot-kick as Manchester United lost a shoot-out to Middlesbrough on Friday
Burnley vs Man Utd - Premier League standings
Burnley are bottom of the Premier League table with 13 points from 19 games having won only once in the league this season. They have two games in hand on Newcastle and Watford (who sit immediately above them) and three on Norwich who are 17th. Three points tonight would be enough to lift Sean Dyche’s men out of the relegation and send them on the road to safety.
Manchester United can close the gap on third placed Chelsea and simultaneously move four points clear of West Ham (5th) if they defeat the Clarets this evening. They have picked up a few good results under interim manager Ralf Rangnick but have yet to put in such a performance that would signal a turnaround in their fluctuating form. Will tonight be the night they do so?
Burnley vs Man Utd - Recent results
Burnley have yet to win a game in 2022. They lost 3-1 to Leeds in their first Premier League game of the New Year before suffering a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Championship club Huddersfield Town in the third round of the FA Cup despite taking the lead in the first half of that game.
More recently they’ve picked up two points through consecutive goalless draws – against Arsenal and Watford – in the Premier League and are still trying to pick up their second league win of the season.
Manchester United responded well to a 1-0 loss to Wolves on January 3rd. They won three of their four games and drew the other one 2-2 against Aston Villa in the Premier League before meeting Middlesbrough in the fourth round of the FA Cup last Friday. That game was a disappointment for Ralf Rangnick’s men.
They should have put the match beyond the Championship club in the first half but squandered their best chances including a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo. United did manage to take a one-goal lead but Boro equalised in the second half, took the match to penalties, and then won 8-7 in a shootout when Anthony Elanga’s spot kick went over the crossbar.
Burnley vs Man Utd team news
Josh Brownhill returns from a ban for Burnley and Charlie Taylor, who has been recovering from a foot injury and will be assessed before kick off. Johan Gudmundsson and Ashley Barnes remain out though.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane are expected to overcome the knocks they picked up against Middlesbrough but there are still doubts over Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly.
Fred and Alex Telles definitely miss out having tested positive for Covid-19 but Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard are available again.
Premier League: Burnley host Manchester United
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage as Burnley host Manchester United in the Premier League.
It is a fixture that neither side can afford to lose with Burnley currently sitting rock-bottom of the table, having been held to a 0-0 draw against relegation rivals Watford last weekend.
Meanwhile, United’s problems on the pitch have been overshadowed by the arrest of Mason Greenwood, who was suspended by the club following his arrest. United returned to action last weekend in the FA Cup but suffered a humbling exit at the hands of Middlesbrough, who triumphed in a penalty shootout.
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