Manchester United tell a familiar, worrying tale despite last-gasp win over Burnley | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim sat back in his dugout, feet up, looking drained. Then he turned to face the supporters. After opting not to watch 26 penalties at Grimsby, Manchester United’s fate came down to one against Burnley. Amorim didn’t see this, either. Bruno Fernandes, looking rather less nervous than his manager, drilled it under Martin Dubravka for a 97th-minute decider. United, the club that sing about having won “the lot”, had finally won a game this season.

They did it the hard way; perhaps the ludicrous way. Yet in a tale of penalties, missed at Grimsby and revoked in Manchester, there came a reminder that Fernandes has the mettle and mentality required. He had converted twice in the shootout at Blundell Park but blazed over at Fulham last week.

“I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row,” said Amorim. He was right. His captain belatedly settled a game United should have had determined far earlier, scoring the decisive goal from their 26th shot.

Scott Parker, whose Burnley had been wretched in the first half and roused in a fine comeback in the second, confronted referee Sam Barrott at the final whistle, though his grievance lay with the VAR, David Webb. “The way the game ends, it is the way the game has gone – quadruple checking every minute,” he said. “It’s not the ref, it’s a fella 200-odd miles away in a box.”

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Emotions ran high as United secured a first top-flight win of the campaign (Getty Images)

The on-field official had twice been sent to the screen by Webb, each to reverse his original decision. United were initially given a first-half penalty for Kyle Walker’s tug on Mason Mount, after his own clearance was charged down, only for the verdict to change; they were arguably fouling each other. When Jaidon Anthony grabbed Amad Diallo’s shirt, initially outside the box, United were the annoyed party. A replay later and after Fernandes delivered his 99th United goal, they were elated.

It was a win that Amorim needed: it was just his eighth in 30 league games. Half of those victories have come against promoted clubs, and when United were dominant in the first half, it seemed as though they could excel against sides recently in the Championship, if not League Two.

But then came a crazy second half. Amorim had said that sometimes he loves his players and sometimes he hates them. Here, he could have been forgiven for doing both in the same afternoon. “When they put the effort, I will always love them,” he insisted. “We should have always been on this level of effort.”

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Bryan Mbuemo starred for United (Getty Images)

But, for an emotional manager, there were swings in the mood of a match. Burnley twice equalised, United looking susceptible to both crosses and set-pieces.

Lyle Foster, who showed rather more potency than Benjamin Sesko, volleyed in Jacob Bruun Larsen’s ball from the right flank. United, Amorim felt, let in a similar goal at Fulham last week. Then, having conceded twice to corners already this season, this time a long throw was United’s undoing. Kyle Walker’s ability to hurl the ball into the box discombobulated a team, with Altay Bayindir replacing the dropped Andre Onana in goal.

“I think it is hard to be a Manchester United goalkeeper in this moment,” said Amorim. Bayindir was not blameless as, after he parried Loum Tchaouna’s shot, Anthony bundled in the rebound. It seemed it was not the first demoralising experience United have had with a winger of that name, even if this particular Antony did not cost them £85m. Yet his handiwork instead afforded them the chance of a winner.

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Burnley were unfortunate to have a Lyle Foster goal ruled out for offside (Getty Images)

Which, on the balance of play, they thoroughly deserved. United began with the thrust they lacked at Blundell Park. There was a vibrancy, an energy and a dynamism. “We have so many chances to score,” said Amorim. United had 13 shots by half-time; the eventual tally was twice that.

But a club who have spent £200m on new forwards this summer showed a ridiculous wastefulness. In fairness, one of those new attackers, Bryan Mbeumo, scored United’s second goal. It was both an immediate riposte to Foster’s leveller and an illustration of why Amorim had preferred Diogo Dalot, who produced a precise cutback, to Patrick Dorgu. Mbeumo was excellent. “It was impressive, the way he stretched the team, the quality he has in the first touch,” said Amorim. The newcomer deserved the status of the first scorer for United in this league season.

Yet United’s opener was a statistical curiosity. Casemiro’s bullet header hit the bar, then Josh Cullen, going over the line before Martin Dubravka could claw it back. United’s second Premier League goal of the season was a second own goal, after Rodrigo Muniz inadvertently opened their account. It was a strange slice of history; no other Premier League team had ever seen their first two league goals both be own goals. Was this Amorim’s masterplan in play?

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Jaidon Anthony equalised for 2-2 (Getty Images)

The breakthrough had stemmed from Mount’s free kick and he was the outstanding player of the first half, a creator, almost a scorer when he glanced a header on to the bar, and nearly a man who won a penalty. Yet United became more anarchic when he went off and Kobbie Mainoo came on. With Matheus Cunha also going off, Amorim was given two injury worries. “We need these guys really bad to be competitive,” he said.

His side at least possessed a threat through inswinging set-pieces, particularly from Mount, Mbeumo and Fernandes. They showed a propensity to miss chances: Amad’s was the most glaring, though, two late headers from the substitute Sesko looked set to cost them. Until, in a script they have seen before, Fernandes turned rescuer as Old Trafford saw more late drama. Not that Amorim witnessed all of it.