Match Preview

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Match Report

Barclays Premier League

Wednesday, 11 February 2015,

Man United
3
-
Full Time
Live
-
1
Burnley
  • Kickoff: 20:45 BST
  • Stadium: Old Trafford
  • Referee: -
  • Stadium: Old Trafford
  • Attendance: 75,356
  • 6' Chris Smalling
  • 46' Chris Smalling
  • 82' Robin van Persie - pen
  • 12' Danny Ings

Manchester United

Half time

Full time

Burnley

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Van Gaal rejects Allardyce jibes

Louis van Gaal pulled out a dossier full of statistics at his press conference as he hit back at Sam Allardyce's claim that Manchester United are long-ball merchants.

West Ham boss Allardyce described Van Gaal's team as "long-ball United" after they scraped a 1-1 draw at Upton Park on Sunday.

But Van Gaal said Allardyce's "interpretation" was incorrect and the Dutchman produced a pamphlet filled with statistics at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday to support his stance.

The statistics quoted in the A4 pamphlet, which were put together by Van Gaal's analysts, claim West Ham sent a higher percentage of their long passes forward than United during the match.

West Ham attempted 200 passes, according to the figures, and United 343.

The pamphlet said 71.1 per cent of West Ham's "long passes" - of over 25 metres - went forward whereas United's percentage was just 49.9 per cent.

Diagrams in the pamphlet claim to show United's passes went sideways or diagonally, rather than forward.

Van Gaal talks regularly about the fact that he wants his teams to play attractive football.

He was clearly, therefore, annoyed at Allardyce's comments and he had the pamphlet on his desk waiting when he fielded the first question about the West Ham boss' jibe.

"Because I expected this question, I have made an interpretation of the data for this game and then I have to say that it is not a good interpretation from Big Sam," Van Gaal said.

Van Gaal insisted his team only started launching balls forward after 6ft 4in Marouane Fellaini came on in the 76th minute of the draw in east London.

"When you have 60 per cent ball possession do you think that you can do that with long balls?" Van Gaal added.

"Yeah, long balls, in the width, to switch the play. You have to look at the data and then you will see that we did play long balls, but long balls wide, rather than to the striker.

"A ball to the forward striker is mainly caused long-ball play.

"It is not so difficult also to read that.

"I am sorry, but we are playing ball possession play and after 70 minutes we did not succeed, in spite of many chances in the second half, then I changed my playing style.

"Then, of course, with the quality of Fellaini we played more forward balls and we scored from that, so I think it was a very good decision of the manager.

"But, when you see overall the long ball, and what is the percentage of that, then West Ham have played 71 per cent of the long balls to the forwards and we 49."

United may be fourth in the Barclays Premier League, but the team lacks the energy, dynamism and flair of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.

"I think we have played attractive games and less attractive games," Van Gaal said.

Van Gaal's United take on Burnley at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Luke Shaw is suspended following his sending-off at West Ham and Michael Carrick is absent because of a calf injury.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche reacted with incredulity to criticism of United for being a long-ball team.

The Clarets boss said: "I find it incredible, the whole thing.

"I think back to my youth and a player then who was renowned was Glenn Hoddle. Was he renowned for playing five and 10-yard passes? No he wasn't. Was Ronald Koeman renowned for playing five and 10-yard passes? He was marvelled at.

"I'm looking at Man Utd's team - I think they're capable of playing the ball more than five or 10 yards, and probably accurately and probably with some style.

"I'm certainly not questioning whether they're a long-ball side or not. I think it's a bizarre debate."

The trip to Old Trafford is the start of a formidable run of fixtures for Burnley, who headed into the midweek programme one point above the relegation zone.

Over the next two months they also face Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal, but Dyche is undaunted.

"This is the reality of the league," he said. "You've got to play everyone home and away. How they fall is irrelevant.

"It's the challenge we all wanted. I want it, the players want it, the town wanted it, the club wanted it. You can't then go, 'Oh, they're big games against big clubs'. Yes they are and that's exactly what we were expecting."

Burnley's hopes of surviving the drop were dealt a blow on Tuesday with the news key midfielder Dean Marney will miss the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate knee ligament.

The 31-year-old suffered the injury during Sunday's 2-2 draw with West Brom.

Marney joins defender Kevin Long, who suffered the same injury last month, in the treatment room, while striker Sam Vokes missed the start of the season as he recovered from a ruptured cruciate.

91'+4

End Regular Time

91'+3

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 94'

91'+3

Foul by Marcos Rojo (Manchester United).

91'+2

Attempt missed. James Wilson (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Robin van Persie with a through ball.

91'+2

Robin van Persie (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 93'

91'+2

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 93'

91'+1

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 92'

91'+1

Substitution, Burnley. Lukas Jutkiewicz replaces Ashley Barnes.

91'

Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United) Throw In at 91'

88'

Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Jason Shackell.

88'

Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 87'

87'

Attempt blocked. Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.

87'

Attempt saved. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Patrick McNair.

87'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 87'

87'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 87'

86'

Substitution, Burnley. Sam Vokes replaces Michael Kightly.

86'

Ángel Di María

86'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) wins a free kick on the left wing.

85'

David Jones (Burnley) Free Kick at 85'

84'

James Wilson

84'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

84'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Free Kick at 84'

83'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

82'

3 - 1

Goal! Manchester United 3, Burnley 1. Robin van Persie (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.

81'

Penalty conceded by Scott Arfield (Burnley) after a foul in the penalty area.

80'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) Corner Kick at 80'

80'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Chris Smalling.

80'

Attempt blocked. Michael Kightly (Burnley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

79'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) Corner Kick at 79'

79'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Patrick McNair.

79'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 79'

78'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 78'

78'

Foul by Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United).

76'

Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Kieran Trippier.

76'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 76'

74'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 74'

74'

Substitution, Manchester United. James Wilson replaces Falcao.

73'

David Jones (Burnley) Free Kick at 73'

73'

Foul by Chris Smalling (Manchester United).

70'

Michael Keane (Burnley) Free Kick at 70'

68'

Radamel Falcao

68'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) wins a free kick on the right wing.

68'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Free Kick at 68'

67'

Scott Arfield

67'

Foul by Scott Arfield (Burnley).

66'

Attempt missed. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Chris Smalling.

66'

Chris Smalling (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 66'

66'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) Free Kick at 66'

66'

Foul by Ashley Barnes (Burnley).

66'

Attempt blocked. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Patrick McNair.

66'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 66'

64'

Danny Ings (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 64'

61'

Attempt blocked. Michael Kightly (Burnley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ben Mee.

61'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Assists Shot at 60'

60'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 60'

59'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) Free Kick at 59'

59'

Wayne Rooney

58'

Foul by Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

58'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Blocked Pass at 58'

57'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 57'

57'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 57'

56'

Attempt saved. Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jonny Evans.

56'

Jonathan Evans (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 56'

56'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 56'

56'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 55'

55'

Tom Heaton (Burnley) Free Kick at 55'

55'

Offside, Manchester United. Robin van Persie tries a through ball, but Falcao is caught offside.

54'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 54'

54'

Ander Herrera (Manchester United) Free Kick at 54'

53'

Benjamin Mee

53'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

51'

Attempt missed. Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Wayne Rooney.

51'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 51'

50'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Corner Kick at 50'

50'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Jonny Evans.

49'

David Jones (Burnley) Free Kick at 49'

49'

Foul by Ander Herrera (Manchester United).

48'

Danny Ings (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 48'

48'

Attempt saved. Danny Ings (Burnley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by George Boyd.

48'

George Boyd (Burnley) Assists Shot at 48'

47'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 47'

46'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 46'

46'

Second Half begins Manchester United 2, Burnley 1.

46'+4

Halftime

46'+3

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 49'

46'+3

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 49'

46'+2

2 - 1

Goal! Manchester United 2, Burnley 1. Chris Smalling (Manchester United) header from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ángel Di María with a cross following a corner.

46'+2

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 48'

46'+1

Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Jason Shackell.

46'+1

Ander Herrera (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 47'

46'+1

Tom Heaton (Burnley) Free Kick at 47'

46'+1

Offside, Manchester United. Ander Herrera tries a through ball, but Patrick McNair is caught offside.

46'+1

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 47'

46'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 46'

46'

Ander Herrera (Manchester United) Throw In at 46'

45'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 45'

43'

Attempt missed. Ashley Barnes (Burnley) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Michael Kightly.

43'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) Assists Shot at 43'

42'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 42'

42'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 42'

41'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 41'

41'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 41'

41'

Chris Smalling (Manchester United) Blocked Pass at 41'

40'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 40'

40'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

39'

Substitution, Manchester United. Ander Herrera replaces Daley Blind because of an injury.

37'

Attempt missed. Ashley Barnes (Burnley) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Kieran Trippier with a cross.

37'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Assists Shot at 37'

37'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 37'

36'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 36'

36'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) Blocked Pass at 36'

36'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 36'

35'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Free Kick at 35'

35'

Foul by Falcao (Manchester United).

34'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Free Kick at 34'

34'

Foul by Ben Mee (Burnley).

34'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 34'

34'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 34'

33'

Tom Heaton (Burnley) Free Kick at 33'

32'

Foul by Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United).

31'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 31'

31'

Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Kieran Trippier.

31'

George Boyd (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 31'

30'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 30'

30'

George Boyd (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 30'

29'

Attempt missed. Jason Shackell (Burnley) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Kieran Trippier with a cross following a corner.

29'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Assists Shot at 29'

29'

Michael Keane (Burnley) Corner Kick at 29'

28'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Wayne Rooney.

28'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 28'

28'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) wins a free kick on the right wing.

28'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 28'

27'

George Boyd (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 27'

27'

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) Free Kick at 26'

26'

Michael Kightly

26'

Ángel Di María (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

25'

Attempt blocked. Michael Kightly (Burnley) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

24'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) Corner Kick at 24'

24'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Ángel Di María.

24'

Tom Heaton (Burnley) Free Kick at 24'

23'

Michael Kightly (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

22'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 22'

21'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 21'

21'

David Jones (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 21'

20'

Tom Heaton (Burnley) Free Kick at 20'

20'

Foul by Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

19'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Blocked Pass at 19'

18'

Attempt missed. Ashley Barnes (Burnley) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Danny Ings.

18'

Danny Ings (Burnley) Assists Shot at 18'

17'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 17'

17'

Attempt missed. Danny Ings (Burnley) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Ben Mee with a headed pass following a corner.

17'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Assists Shot at 17'

16'

Attempt blocked. Danny Ings (Burnley) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

16'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 16'

15'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 15'

14'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 14'

13'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Throw In at 13'

12'

1 - 1

Goal! Manchester United 1, Burnley 1. Danny Ings (Burnley) header from very close range to the top left corner. Assisted by Kieran Trippier with a cross.

12'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Assists Shot at 12'

11'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Throw In at 11'

11'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 11'

11'

Benjamin Mee (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 11'

10'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Free Kick at 10'

10'

Foul by George Boyd (Burnley).

9'

Attempt saved. Michael Kightly (Burnley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Danny Ings.

9'

Danny Ings (Burnley) Assists Shot at 9'

6'

1 - 0

Goal! Manchester United 1, Burnley 0. Chris Smalling (Manchester United) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Falcao with a headed pass following a corner.

6'

Radamel Falcao (Manchester United) Assists Shot at 6'

5'

Substitution, Manchester United. Chris Smalling replaces Phil Jones because of an injury.

5'

Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Tom Heaton.

5'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Corner Kick at 5'

5'

Attempt saved. Patrick McNair (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.

5'

Patrick McNair (Manchester United) Throw In at 5'

4'

David Jones (Burnley) Blocked Pass at 4'

4'

Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) Throw In at 4'

3'

Attempt missed. Michael Keane (Burnley) header from very close range is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Kieran Trippier with a cross following a corner.

3'

Scott Arfield (Burnley) Assists Shot at 3'

2'

Ashley Barnes (Burnley) Corner Kick at 2'

2'

Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Phil Jones.

2'

Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Free Kick at 2'

2'

George Boyd (Burnley) wins a free kick on the right wing.

1'

First Half begins.

Show all commentary

Possession

57%
43%
  • Manchester United
  • Burnley

Shots

11
13

Shots on target

7
3

Fouls

15
8

Corners

5
8

Yellow Cards

4
3

Red Cards

0
0

Head to Head

Man United3 - 1Burnley
Burnley0 - 0Man United
Man United3 - 0Burnley
Burnley1 - 0Man United
Burnley0 - 2Man United
Burnley0 - 1Man United

Man United

  • 1David De Gea
  • 5Marcos Rojo
  • 33Patrick McNair
  • 4Phil Jones
  • -> Chris Smalling
  • 6Jonathan Evans
  • 7Ángel Di María
  • 10Wayne Rooney
  • 11Adnan Januzaj
  • 20Robin van Persie
  • 9Radamel Falcao
  • -> James Wilson
  • 17Daley Blind
  • -> Ander Herrera
  • Subs
  • 32Victor Valdés
  • 25Antonio Valencia
  • 8Juan Mata
  • 31Marouane Fellaini

Burnley

  • 1Tom Heaton
  • 25Michael Keane
  • 6Benjamin Mee
  • 2Kieran Trippier
  • 5Jason Shackell
  • 11Michael Kightly
  • -> Sam Vokes
  • 21George Boyd
  • 10Danny Ings
  • 37Scott Arfield
  • 30Ashley Barnes
  • -> Lucas Jutkiewicz
  • 14David Jones
  • Subs
  • 18Steven Reid
  • 22Matthew Gilks
  • 7Ross Wallace
  • 4Mike Duff
  • 3Daniel Lafferty

Manchester United 3-1 Burnley

Manchester United cut out the long-ball tactics but they still had to battle their way to a 3-1 win over Burnley at Old Trafford.

Chris Smalling scored 22 seconds after his introduction to put United ahead and the substitute put United 2-1 up after Danny Ings' spectacular diving header.

Burnley, whose team cost a fraction of Louis van Gaal's star-laden XI, had United on the ropes at times in the first half and comedy defending from Smalling and Ander Herrera should have resulted in an equaliser, but David de Gea saved the Red Devils once again.

Finally, Robin van Persie put the game to bed with an 82nd-minute penalty after Angel Di Maria was fouled in the box.

All the focus in the build-up to Wednesday's match had centred on Van Gaal's bizarre press conference stunt, which was designed to shoot down Sam Allardyce's claims about United's style of play.

Allardyce had referred to Van Gaal's team as ``long-ball United'' and Van Gaal responded by producing a dossier of statistics which supposedly undermined the Hammers manager's claims at a press conference on Tuesday.

There were few long-balls on Wednesday night - Marouane Fellaini did not step off the bench to add an aerial threat - but for large parts United were still not at their free-flowing best.

The fact that Wayne Rooney was moved to the base of United's midfield diamond following an injury to Daley Blind did not help.

Still, Van Gaal will point to the Barclays Premier League table, which states his team are now third - one point ahead of Southampton and two in front of Arsenal.

United were criticised for a lack of creativity on Sunday, but Van Gaal stubbornly stuck with the same front six that looked completely blunt at West Ham.

The only changes for United came at the back where Paddy McNair and Jonny Evans replaced Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw.

United fans applauded Michael Keane as his name was read out from the Burnley team-sheet, but the centre-back almost scored against his old club after just two minutes.

Scott Arfield's corner cleared a number of United bodies in the box, but Keane's effort flew wide.

United heeded the warning. The man who jumped ahead of Keane in the pecking order at United, McNair, almost celebrated his new contract with a maiden goal but Tom Heaton awkwardly palmed his shot wide.

Just before Rooney took the corner Smalling came on for Phil Jones and 22 seconds later he headed United ahead.

From Rooney's corner, Radamel Falcao knocked Van Persie's flick-on back across the box and Smalling headed home.

The United fans hoping their team would go on to establish a comprehensive lead were to be disappointed. The hosts' lead lasted just six minutes.

Di Maria gave the ball away and Kieran Trippier took advantage, swinging in a cross to the back post where Ings headed in superbly after drifting away from Smalling.

Burnley upped the pressure and would have taken the lead had De Gea not saved Ings' low shot with his feet. Ashley Barnes cracked a low curling shot just wide. Evans hoofed the ball up in the air inside his own box moments later. United were rattled.

Whatever they tried in attack - whether it be long passes, short passes or medium-sized ones - it did not work. Burnley, promoted to the top-flight on a shoestring, were upstaging Van Gaal's expensively-assembled team.

Michael Kightly even nutmegged Rooney.

Van Gaal then took the bizarre decision to drop Rooney, the club's third-highest goal scorer of all-time, back to the base of the diamond when Blind came off through injury and was replaced by Herrera.

Smalling saved United's blushes just before the break when he scored his second.

Again the goal came from a corner. Rooney and Di Maria exchanged passes before the Argentinian whipped a pin-point ball to the back post where Smalling rose above his marker and nodded in.

United still looked shaky at the back after the break. Evans looked uncomfortable on the ball.

Smalling looked at Herrera, expecting the Spaniard to clear George Boyd's soft cross, but he did not and the ball fell straight to the feet of Ings. Not for the first time this season, De Gea came to the rescue, deflecting the ball over the bar.

Rooney's evening got worse when he was booked for barging into Ings. Falcao joined him in the book for catching Trippier with his arm as he jumped for the ball.

Any hopes of a Burnley comeback were extinguished eight minutes from time when Arfield tripped Di Maria when he raced into the box.

Smalling did not put himself forward to try to score his first ever hat-trick. He left it to Van Persie, who clinically jabbed the ball past Heaton.

ends




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