Despite Burnley having a good spell of possession in the opening five minutes of the second half, we had the first real chance of the half. Garnacho went on a good run down the left and darted into the box. He cut it back to Antony for what would have been the opener but the Muric managed to scramble across to smother the ball.
Moments later, Garnacho had another opportunity to try to break the deadlock after Antony perfectly picked out his run but Argentina international’s shot curled the wrong side of the post. After coming off the bench for Fofana, Amdouni made his presence known to the United defence by fashioning a shot on goal but it was well over the bar.
Hojlund was wrestled to the ground by Maxime Esteve, earning United a free-kick. It was taken quickly by Fernandes who found the run of Christian Eriksen but as he tried to square it to Antony it took a deflection into the arms of the keeper.
We were itching for an opener and Garnacho once again went on a blistering run through the middle but the Burnley defence tracked back well. It looked as though, if a goal was going to come, it was going to come from Garnacho as the youngster had another chance following a corner, forcing Muric into a fingertip save to tip it over the bar.
United finally made the breakthrough in the 79th minute. Burnley were sloppy in possession, with Sander Berge’s pass going astray, and Antony pounced. As he darted into the box he was clipped, he tried to stay on his feet and, as he fell, he managed to slot it into the bottom corner.
Burnley were desperate to get something from this game though and as we entered the last few minutes, the ball ping-ponged around United’s penalty area. Onana went to punch the ball away but caught Amdouni instead. The referee John Brooks waved it away but VAR intervened to instruct him to view the screen and award a penalty. Amdouni stepped up and made no mistake as Onana went the wrong way.
United had a penalty shout of our own as we entered injury time as the ball appeared to hit Vitinho’s hand but the ref waved it away. After McTominay was forced off in some pain, both sides were desperate to take all three points and there were opportunities at both ends. Onana pulled off another big save to deny Odobert at his near post. With the last kick of the match, Antony’s shot was saved by Muric after Fernandes got in the way of an Amad effort.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
