After nearly three weeks out of club football, Manchester United stars returned from the World Cup in fine form by beating Burnley 2-0 in the Carabao Cup to advance to the quarter-finals.
It was Burnley who had the first real chance of the game. The Clarets launched a counter-attack and Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s cross found Barnes, who got between Casemiro and Lindelof but his shot was tame and did not bother Dubravka.
Next, it was United’s turn to counterattack, but Garnacho put in a strong touch that sent the ball home.
Burnley were comfortable with possession and by pressing high when they didn’t have it, they were really giving the Reds the game.
However, it was the local team that made the leap. Despite Burnley’s best defensive efforts, United’s patient play paid off. A late run from Wan-Bissaka was spotted by Fernandes and the England man volleyed the ball to Eriksen, who smashed it towards goal.
However, Burnley’s Benson, a spirited player, was causing all sorts of problems for United. He forced Dubravka to make a good save, turning the post around. However, the substitute goalkeeper made a mistake in the resulting corner, which almost hit his own goal, but Casemiro deflected it aside to save his goalkeeper’s blush.
In the second half, Burnley looked strong, intercepting United’s sloppy passes and setting themselves up in good attacking positions.
But United kept their cool, putting up some good blocks and creating chances for themselves too.
Fernandes played a beautiful float to Rashford’s feet who laid it out for McTominay on the edge of the box but his shot went just over the crossbar.
Moments later, it was Marcus Rashford who doubled the Reds’ lead. He made an excellent run, changing his pace to fool the Burnley players, sitting them down and rounding them with ease before placing him in the far corner.
The United players were gaining confidence, especially Rashford, who brought down a Burnley defender and once again tried to dance his way into the danger zone, this time down the left, but this time he was dispossessed.
Burnley followed up with a good spell, with two perfect chances, but the first was deflected and the second was knocked over the crossbar by Barnes.
Antony put in an excellent run that got the Old Trafford crowd excited, but he slipped when trying to find Fernandes and was right behind the Portuguese international.
The Burnley fans thought he had returned it, a deflected pass from Casemiro allowed the Clarets to attack and Barnes from just a few yards out had a glorious chance but fell inches wide.
In stoppage time, moments before a clean sheet and Dubravka made another mistake that almost proved costly for the Reds when he tangled with a Burnley player to the left of his box. Fortunately, his teammates fell back to cover his goal as he found his feet again.
United had played well for the most part, although the scoreline made it look comfortable, they had to work hard for the win as Burnley pressed well and had several chances, but the difference came when United were more clinical in the final third.
Team: Dubravka, Wan-Bissaka (Shaw 72), Lindelof, McTominay, Malaysia (Williams 85), Casemiro, Eriksen, Rashford (Fred 85), Fernandes, Garnacho (Antony 59), Martial (Elanga 72)
