We had the scalp of 8 teams in the past 5 weeks with the toughest being the win over Tottenham at the Wembley stadium. Burnley came to town and I had written them off, after all we just taught Arsenal football lessons few days ago, why would a team way below us be a problem? There was no way Burnley was going to give my darling Manchester United problems, no way in hell. Well so I thought.
Burnley can be a stubborn side but have not beaten Manchester United since August 2009 and I didn’t expect United to falter against them on the night. Man Utd caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (OGS) made changes to the team that beat Arsenal in the FA Cup at the Emirates last Friday with Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Ander Herrera, Eric Bailly and Sergio Romero making way for Marcus Rashford, Juan Mata, Andreas Pereira, Phil Jones and David De Gea in the starting line up.
As expected United dominated proceedings, carving out chance after chance but Burnley were sturdy in defense and running down the clock like they were holding out for a draw or would be contented with one. Manchester United fluffed all chances they had in the first 45 minutes. Half time scores, 0:0.
United picked up from where they stopped in the first half as the second 45 minutes got underway but it would be Burnley that would shockingly take the lead. In the 51st minute Jack Cork slid a pass Ashley Barnes way and the English born forward ran into the box before unleashing a shot aimed at the roof of the net. Goal, 1 nil in Burnley’s favour.
The beer went sour at this point though I still believed the Red Devils were still going to win the tie. Man Utd kept pressing but yielded nothing fruitful. OGS decided to bring on Jesse Lingard for Pereira in the 63rd minute and Alexis Sanchez for Romelu Lukaku in 67th minute but this did not bring about the desired equalizer let alone a path to victory. It would be Burnley that’ll be going away with the bragging rights in this was what I thought after they got a second goal in 81st minute through Chris Wood. 2:0 to Burnley.
United pushed for at least a consolation goal as they had not gone a game without scoring under the OGS reign. Their efforts were rewarded with an 87th penalty, Jesse Lingard was fouled in the box and Paul Pogba wasted little time to bury it. Scores, 2:1.
Resurgence on the cards? The belief was there and I ordered another bottle to boost morale. If there was anybody who knew anything about a comeback, it had to be OGS. His late winner against Bayern Munich for Manchester United in the 1999 Champions League final easily comes to mind. Victor Lindelof leveled scores in the second minute of extra time. Scores, 2 apiece and to be honest I was thinking United would score a third. It was not meant to be.
Final scores 2:2. Not a good result for United but way better than a loss. Manchester United’s winning streak under OGS has been snapped at 8 games but still remain unbeaten in his 9 games in charge.
Manchester City did not do their chances of usurping Liverpool at the top of the summit any good, losing to my 3rd best team; Newcastle. A win for Liverpool against Leicester on Wednesday night would mean they would be 7 points ahead of City who are second on the log. I don’t want this to happen, yes I can’t wish my real rivals well, END OF STORY.
Thanks for your time guys. Stay BLESSED!!!
