After yet another late Manchester United capitulation, Erik ten Hag invoked a rare trophyless Sir Alex Ferguson vintage to try to explain it. The Dutchman compared his work to that of the rebuild of 2004‑05, at the start of which a 19‑year‑old Wayne Rooney was signed and Darren Fletcher, 21, was in his second season as an established first-team player.
Within two years United were champions and the following season they retained the title and won the Champions League.
Ten Hag said: “They [his side] are way off the mark but also a great Manchester United team, it is forgotten, how in 2004-05 they also didn’t play that great football. They were building and it takes time but everyone forgets, even the players who were in that team. They forget they were struggling and needed time to progress.
“We have some very young players and that takes time – Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Højlund and Kobbie Mainoo – and they are all in the first season of the Premier League. Those players have to adjust. I am very impatient but we need patience.”
A close-to-tumbling-over Antony had appeared to be United’s hero against Burnley, his strike hitting the back of Arijanet Muric’s net with the clock showing 79 minutes. This came after the winger intercepted Sander Berge’s loose pass near halfway and ran in. The Norwegian chased back and pushed him, the finish coming as he fought to keep his footing.
The Brazilian marked a first Premier League goal of the season by hugging a photographer in the Stretford End and raising a Sonic the Hedgehog cuddly toy located from pitchside.
But soon United hit self-destruct via the hapless André Onana, who wiped out Zeki Amdouni near goal when Aaron Wan-Bissaka had already headed clear. It was an obvious penalty and the same player sent the keeper the wrong way to beat him to his left. After Coventry City in the FA Cup and Chelsea, Brentford and Liverpool in this competition, United had again failed to do what should be regulation for elite players: to close the contest down.
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They tried to rally. An Antony spot-kick shout after he smacked the ball against Vitinho’s hand was turned down by John Brooks, the referee, and Casemiro’s flicked header from Bruno Fernandes’s free-kick went straight at Muric.
The bottom line for United is being all but ruled out of Champions League qualification, while Burnley are two points from the last safe spot having played a game more than 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Ten Hag expanded on his reasons for ceding so many leads. “This is very different to ones before. It [the Vitinho incident] is again a penalty. There were some penalties [previously not given and awarded against] – Chelsea, Liverpool and now I think a justified penalty.
“We only have to look in the mirror but if the refereeing is consistent against Chelsea and Liverpool there were no penalties and penalties for us. When you have Aaron Wan-Bissaka against Chelsea conceding a penalty from the handball and then our [shout] from Antony we don’t get: it is bad luck.”
Ten Hag was asked if next season the dividend of his work will be reaped. “You express it 100% good,” he said.
There were boos when Ten Hag replaced Mainoo and Højlund midway through the second half with Amad and Scott McTominay. “They are fans but I have to manage the team,” the 53-year-old said.
Before and after the goals, both teams were profligate. For United, Antony, Garnacho, Fernandes and Højlund were the prime culprits. For Burnley, it was David Fofana and Lyle Foster who spurned gilded chances to score in a contest in which the possession share, too, was about equal.
Of Burnley’s survival hopes, Vincent Kompany said: “The task is to do something special hopefully against Newcastle at home [on Saturday] but the reality is if Luton win all their games they are staying up, unless Forest win all their games as well.”
Burnley have vowed to help “identify and prosecute” fans who engaged in “tragedy-related gesturing and chanting” during the game.
The club said they were informed about “offensive footage” on social media from some of their travelling supporters on Saturday afternoon. They released a club statement on X, which read: “We are aware of offensive footage currently circulating on social media from the away end of today’s fixture at Old Trafford.
“Tragedy related gesturing and chanting is completely unacceptable, and Burnley Football Club take a zero-tolerance approach. We will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Police and Manchester United to help identify and prosecute the individuals responsible.”
