Burnely 0-0 Manchester United- BPL Game 3
Another three points goes drifting away as a formidable yet disappointing draw has held Manchester United fans to phase of suffering.
£60m man Angel Di Maria made his debut in the match with him beginning a particular bright spark in a side which are in decline. His performance embodied what we as fans would hope to view, his velocity and injection of pace frightened the Premier League defenders.
Chances came few and far between but it is a case of the pressure in which United present upon the Burnely defence. Most of the time when the ball is in the wide areas it is 6 vs 2 in Burnley's favour.
On the positives Angel Di Maria was one of the stars and their is risks beginning taken which have been a disappearing factor in recent matches.
The referee had a few contentious decisions to make when one soft Ashley Young penalty appeal was waved away. In my opinion their was no option to play the ball although it was soft.
The second penalty decision was not awarded when in the dying embers Young's shot cannoned off the Burnely players hands which were in an unnatural position. It may have been fairly close to him and hit at speed maybe those factors persuading the referee not to point to the spot.
Other than that it was a game where United applied on themselves leaving a lack of communication between the defence and goalkeeper.
The Red Devils also at points lacked the ability to shoot on sight as they waited for the opportunity which had passed. They kept looking for the best chance and kept making the extra pass when it was not applicable.
The best chance for Burnely came in the first half when they hit the bar from a dead ball situation. On the right hand side around 20 yards from former United player David Jones.
On the other hand the best chance for United came when Robin Van Persie saw his bouncing effort from just inside the box cleared off the line.
Louis Van Gaal said:
"We were the stronger team and certainly in the second half. We created more chances but we have to score them."
"The progress is there but you have to win. When you have 2 points from 9, that is far too little and it is disappointing."
"We aren't giving many chances away. But we have to create more and today we did – we just failed to score."
Man of the match was a difficult one but Manchester United defender Phil Jones was the only probable player who didn't make any errors and was a constant performer throughout the 90 minutes.
Man of the match: Phil Jones
Next Fixture- QPR: Sunday 14th Sept 16:00 BST