Solskjær speaks!
And with that, I’m off. Bye!
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report from Turf Moor:
Manchester United are top of the Premier League and for this they can thank Paul Pogba whose influence grew after the break, the midfielder crowning his display with a sweet 71st-minute winner. This came when Bruno Fernandes found Marcus Rashford along the right and he crossed for Pogba to smash in a volley that beat Nick Pope via a Matthew Lowton deflection.
Victory means United go to 36 points and overtake Liverpool, with 33, after 17 games – this having last been achieved after the same number of matches when beating Sunderland 3-1 on 15 December 2012 under Sir Alex Ferguson. The upturn in United’s fortunes under Ole Gunnar Solskjær is further underlined by the 33-point swing they have engineered over Liverpool as they visit Anfield on Sunday: before last term’s corresponding fixture United were 27 points behind.
Much more here:
The managers have spoken! First, Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer, who is chuffed:
When you get three points in the Premier League it makes you smile. It was a hard fought three points though. It always is up here. I’ve not watched any of [the controversial moments] so I can’t really say. It might have been a foul by Luke apparently, so that’s probably the right decision. Definitely not a foul by Harry on his goal. We started playing after the [big long VAR check bonanza]. They disagreed with some of the decisions that were made out there and at half-time you’ve got to calm them down. Second half we played really well, then you expect the onslaught in the last five minutes. They are so well organised. There aren’t many spaces but we did look at some of the spaces. It was a great cross and a very well executed finish. Then we could have got one or two more to calm the nerves, but we did it the hard way.
Liverpool have had an unbelievable three and a half seasons, but we couldn’t have asked for a better time to play them. We’re in good shape, and we’re hungry.
And then Sean Dyche, who is encouraged:
I thought it was a good performance against a top side who are going well, we’ve been improving as the season’s gone on. I thought they dealt with [the VARfest] as best they could. I thought it was a foul immediately. On another day that tackle’s just a little bit too high, a little bit too late. You don’t want to see people red carded but on another day he might have gone off for that. But the game’s not about VAR for me. After half-time they had a good 20, 25 minutes and they scored a goal from a deflection. They had chances but not golden chances, and we created a few ourselves particularly at the end.
Here’s Paul Doyle’s report on Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Everton:
Michael Keane headed his third league goal of the season as Everton overcame problems with their strikeforce to claim a win that lifts them into the top four. Alex Iwobi shot the visitors into an early lead before Rúben Neves drew Wolves level in a contest in which the home side’s absences ultimately proved the more costly.
Much more here:
Paul Pogba has a chat:
We know that the game today was very hard, and obviously we wanted to win. It’s not easy to play here and we got the three points, and we’re happy for that. But there’s still a long way, and now we have to focus again for the rest of the season. The decision of the referee [not sure if this bit is about the Maguire non-goal, or the Brady non-red] which in my opinion I didn’t agree, but I’m not the boss on the pitch, he’s the boss. It was a goal [definitely Maguire now], for sure. It was a beautiful goal. When the referee decided that it was kind of strange, but we got the result we wanted so we’re happy.
It’s very hard to play here, they’re very strong and we had to keep our head down and focus on ourselves and the goal would come, and it did come. I’m always happy when I win. Today we won so I’m very happy. I’m happy we’re at the top, but there’s still a long way to go, we have big games coming up and we have to focus on that.
The Premier League table is looking good tonight for United fans, or for neutrals licking their lips at the prospect of Liverpool v Manchester United on Sunday:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd | 17 | 10 | 36 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| 3 | Leicester | 17 | 10 | 32 |
| 4 | Everton | 17 | 7 | 32 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 | 14 | 29 |
| 6 | Man City | 15 | 11 | 29 |
| 7 | Southampton | 17 | 7 | 29 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 15 | 13 | 26 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 17 | 11 | 26 |
| 10 | West Ham | 17 | 3 | 26 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 17 | 1 | 23 |
| 12 | Leeds | 17 | -3 | 23 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 17 | -7 | 22 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 18 | -7 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 17 | -9 | 19 |
| 16 | Burnley | 16 | -12 | 16 |
| 17 | Brighton | 17 | -7 | 14 |
| 18 | Fulham | 15 | -10 | 11 |
| 19 | West Brom | 17 | -28 | 8 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 18 | -20 | 5 |
Burnley had a decent first half, and an excellent final 10 minutes, but Manchester United’s dominance of the majority of the second period, when Pogba and Fernandes emerged as the game’s outstanding influences, allowed them to seal victory. I suppose Burnley should probably have had a penalty for a Maguire handball, but then Maguire’s disallowed first-half header should have stood, so it’s all good.
Turf Moor "a hard place to go" index (last 26 Burnley home games vs Big Six)
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) January 12, 2021
LLDLLLLLLDLLLLWLLLLLLDDLLL
Final score: Burnley 0-1 Manchester United
90+8 mins: It’s all over! Manchester United have won, and are three points clear at the top of the table!
90+6 mins: Now Matic is down and in apparent discomfort. Play continues.
90+5 mins: Burnley pump the ball into the penalty area, McTominay (a recent replacement for Fernandes) heads it straight to Vydra, and he chests down and blasts over!
90+4 mins: Martial limps from the field, having possibly pulled a muscle as he tried to chase down the loose ball after his shot is saved. Tuanzebe comes on for the final seconds.
90+4 mins: Martial misses the chance to seal it! United break, and Martial leaves the ball to run on to Cavani, who loops a first-time pass back towards the Frenchman, who shoots rather sadly, straight at Pope.
90+2 mins: Mee and Shaw end up on the ground, both holding their heads, and play is paused while they’re checked out.
90+1 mins: Nearly an equaliser! McNeil’s cross comes off Bailly’s head and bounces towards Tarkowski, but it’s just behind him and he can’t divert it goalwards!
90+1 mins: Rodriguez has come on for Barnes, and we’re into four minutes of stoppage time.
88 mins: The corner eventually falls to Vydra, who blasts over the bar. There’s then a delay while the VAR checks for a possible handball on Maguire, and I’ve no idea how he got away with that one. As he jumps with Bailly and Mee his seems an entirely arm-based challenge, and though he didn’t know much about it the ball definitely hit an elbow.
87 mins: A good dummy in the build-up and a good first-time shot from Vydra, but it deflects off Bailly and wide. Burnley have finally woken up here, and worked out that they can worry United.
85 mins: Now the ball drops to Brownhill on the edge of the area, but he slices his half-volley wide.
84 mins: Burnley find Vydra with a long ball, but Vydra is facing the wrong way and can’t find an elegant way to turn around, so he loses the ball instead.
82 mins: Pogba’s pass somehow reaches Martial, who turns goalwards and looks certain to extend United’s lead. But he takes an unnecessary touch, and Tarkowski makes an excellent if slightly desperate challenge, and Burnley stay in the game.
80 mins: Burnley bring Vydra on for Wood, and United bring Greenwood on for Rashford. Manchester United are 5-0 ahead on shots on target in this half, and Burnley really have offered very little.
🎙 | "Pick that one out!"
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 12, 2021
Michael Keane's thumping header gives Everton the lead at Wolves!
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76 mins: Cavani loses the ball thanks to an unfortunate bounce in midfield, and what follows will surely win him the 2021 Emmy for outstanding achievement in the field of wild gesticulation.
Breakthrough for #MUFC! 💥
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 12, 2021
Paul Pogba's deflected strike gives them the lead at Turf Moor...
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74 mins: Another goal has gone in at Molineux, and Everton lead once again, this time through Michael Keane.
72 mins: A bit fortunate that, in that Pope would surely have saved the shot had it not hit Lowton, but the pressure had been building and Rashford did well to bide his time on the flank rather than just send in a hopeful cross, instead waiting for the right moment, the right run, and the right man.
GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Manchester United (Pogba, 71 mins)
Rashford crosses from the right, the ball landing on Pogba’s toe, just inside the penalty area, and he hits a handsome volley that flies low towards goal, flicks Lowton’s calf and deflects through Pope’s legs and in!
Updated
69 mins: A United attack ends with Pogba and then Cavani going over but the referee ignoring both incidents. Burnley clear the ball up to Barnes, who then also goes over and is so sure he’s been fouled he grabs the ball on his way down. The referee finally gives a free kick, for handball.
67 mins: The corner is weakly semi-cleared by Lowton to Cavani, who takes a nice touch inside to open up a shooting chance but then curls his effort wide with his left foot.
66 mins: Rashford drives down the right before blasting in a cross towards nobody in particular, which goes behind off a defender.
65 mins: We enter the substitution phase of the evening, with Dwight McNeil replacing Brady.
62 mins: Westwood trips Fernandes, who is spending more time in pockets of space between Burnley’s lines and therefore more influential, and is booked.
60 mins: Fernandes has the ball 25 yards out. He wants to find a pass, but everyone in front of him, from both sides, is standing still, so eventually he just has a shot, which Pope saves.
59 mins: United are well on top here, but not finding the killer ball into the area, or the killer run that enables that ball.
56 mins: United have supped their special tea at the interval, and are an improved team since the break. Fernandes lashes a low shot too close to Pope from 23 yards.
Updated
52 mins: A good, fast United attack ends with Martial passing inside for Cavani, who mishits his shot when well placed!
51 mins: Barnes has a phenomenally rubbish shot, which barely has enough power to reach the goalline but does in the end go out for a goal kick.
50 mins: Dale Johnson, who has his finger on the VAR pulse, has an update on the first-half VARfest:
Ok, got updated info for VAR process in #BURMUN
— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonESPN) January 12, 2021
The VAR, Stuart Attwell, looked at the possible red card for the challenge by Luke Shaw, but determined it was not a red card.
The VAR decided it should be a red card to Robbie Brady for denying a goalscoring opportunity. (cont)
46 mins: Peeeeep! They’re off! Again!
The players are back out and nearly ready to go.
United will be relieved that the referee is feeling lenient (so didn’t send off Shaw), but aggrieved that he’s been too firm (so disallowed Maguire’s header), and also annoyed that he’s feeling lenient (so didn’t give that edge-of-the-area foul on Shaw). This must be confusing for them.
“Good evening Simon,” writes Simon McMahon. “You know I’m not normally one to take an interest in the Scottish football scene but, in the absence of any goal action so far, Lawrence Shankland’s strike for Dundee United against St Johnstone tonight was, well, not very Scottish. Imagine David Beckham against Wimbledon, but better. Like Paul Scholes, I suppose.”
You be the judge:
Absolutely Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/lCe0Sg0Rbu
— Dean Ketts (@shimmyrool83) January 12, 2021
Half time: Burnley 0-0 Manchester United
45+5 mins: An underhit Wan-Bissaka cross is followed by an overhit Fernandes cross, and that’s half time! No goals, but plenty of intrigue.
45+3 mins: Fernandes gets booked for a foul on United’s right flank.
45+2 mins: Shaw runs at the Burnley box and is fouled as he reaches it, but the ball rolls to a teammate and the referee allows play to progress for the second or two it takes for nothing much to happen. I thought he could have called play back for the free kick, but he decides against it.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time we go, and there will be four minutes of it. It starts with a lovely curling, dipping Martial shot which is tipped over by Pope.
43 mins: “I thought we were told that in the cases of foul play, that VAR could only be used to review possible red cards,” says Paul Keane, “so a yellow card is not an option. I’m not saying the yellow card is not the just outcome, but the process of getting there seems to be inconsistent with what we have been told.” VAR can’t deliberately check a booking, but it can go back to see if an offence was committed in the build-up to a key decision - a goal or sending-off - and I suppose a yellow card can be awarded if one is picked up.
39 mins: A United corner. Barnes is marking Bailly, and as the ball is about to be taken he goes down. The first corner is very good, dipping dangerously towards the near post; the retaken corner is not so great. It remains goalless.
38 mins: I think that was a very charitable decision. Pieters was never going to win that header, not where he was standing, and without jumping, but Maguire couldn’t win it without going into him.
GOAL! Or is it? Er, nope!
36 mins: A fabulous Shaw cross, and an excellent header as Maguire outjumps Pieters at the far post and heads in. But the referee thinks he fouled the defender before winning the header, and disallows it!
Updated
34 mins: I’m not sure I’ve seen a this-side-gets-a-red-card-if-that-side-doesn’t-get-a-red-card VAR check before. In the circumstances I have to be a tiny bit disappointed that it somehow ended with neither side getting a red card.
33 mins: And eventually the free kick is taken, curled over a crowded six-yard box and out for a goal kick.
32 mins: Burnley try to take the free kick quickly, before the United defence is set, but the quick pass is to a player who’s offside! Their blushes are saved, though, because the referee wants to book Shaw before play restarts.
32 mins: It’s a free-kick to Burnley! Brady’s yellow card has been rescinded!
31 mins: I think Shaw just catches the ball, before he plants his studs on Gudmundsson’s shin.
28 mins: They’re checking Shaw’s challenge on Gudmundsson. Brady could be sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity if the VAR thinks it’s not a foul. And there’s a chance VAR might think that one’s a red card. Someone’s very possibly going off here, but who?
27 mins: Action at both ends! At one, Gudmundsson seems to win the ball ahead of Shaw and goes down. The home side want a free kick but don’t get one, United break, Mee misjudges and Cavani goes clear. He checks onto his right foot, at which point Brady wipes him out. The referee shows yellow, but VAR will take a second look.
25 mins: Matic intercepts the ball in midfield and finds Martial with an excellent first-time pass. The Frenchman nudges past Lowton and shoots with his left foot, but it curls just wide!
23 mins: The referee calls over Maguire and tells him to tell Cavani to stop winding everyone up. “I understand the viewpoint of Richard Hirst but far worse is when you join one of those tipping games,” writes Malcolm Shuttleworth. “I find myself (as a Man Utd fan) willing teams like Man City or Liverpool to score a late winner, so I can get some points. When it happens, it’s like watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new car.”
22 mins: Fernandes gives the ball away and Burnley put together a lovely little move to set up Wood for a shot, from just inside the area, that hits the sliding Bailly in the chest.
20 mins: A nice dribble from Rashford, who passes to Fernandes, and from his cross Martial attempts an overhead which looks decent but hits a defender.
Updated
17 mins: Shot! Shaw rolls the ball across the edge of the area, and Fernandes’ first-time effort is too close to Pope. Meanwhile, this touches-in-opposition-penalty-area stat is something:
Ruben Neves penalty box predator PL career update:
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) January 12, 2021
Games played: 91
Touches inside penalty area: 12
Penalties scored: 3
Goals scored when the ball is just sort of in the air, moving about and you find yourself quite near the net: 1 🆕
15 mins: Another goal at Molineux, where it’s now Wolves 1-1 Everton, Ruben Neves with the equaliser.
14 mins: Cavani and Mee go for the same high ball. Mee puts out his hand to hold off his rival, which lands on the back of the Uruguayan’s neck. Cavani goes down clutching his face.
Updated
13 mins: The ball drops kindly to Mee, who hammers a shot wildly off target from distance.
10 mins: Burnley have done all the significant attacking in the very early stages, and it seems their plan is to put Wan-Bissaka under maximal pressure with early high balls down their left flank.
8 mins: There has been an early goal in tonight’s other Premier League game at Molineux, where Everton have taken a sixth-minute lead through Alex Iwobi.
💥 | Everton lead at Molineux!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 12, 2021
Alex Iwobi starts the move then finishes it off in style! 🎯
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7 mins: Gudmundsson’s high ball into the box is knocked down and nearly drops to Barnes, who flattens Maguire in his desperation to reach it and concedes a free kick.
5 mins: “I’m deeply conflicted tonight,” writes Richard Hirst. “As a Fulham supporter I badly need Burnley to lose but as a paid up member of the Anyone But United brigade I can’t support them either. I’m hoping for a 0-0 draw with a mass brawl leading to both clubs having points deducted for failing to control their players. At least that would warm up a cold night!” One of the worst things about football supporting is when it leaves you wanting both sides to lose a game you happen to be watching.
1 min: The game’s first shot comes within the opening 20 seconds, when a long ball from right to left bounces to Brady, who hammers a left-footer high from the edge of the box.
1 min: Peeeeeeep! The whistle blows, Ashley Westwood kicks off, he realises everyone else is on one knee, so he does too and bashfully re-kicks-off a few moments later.
Out come the players! It is apparently -1C in Burnley currently, with a gentle breeze.
“In case by some strange twist of fate Man Utd are awarded a penalty this evening, is there a narrative/case to be made that the skippy jump of he who will take it constitutes “ungentlemanly conduct” and should be stamped down on like a Monty Python foot?”
I don’t think so, as he doesn’t come to a standstill. United were given 14 penalties last season, twice as many as the fourth most-penaltied team in the division and three ahead of No2, but they’re only joint second in this season’s penalty table with six, four behind Leicester and level with Brighton.
“Big call by Ole to play Maguire IMO,” writes Peter Kingsnorth. “He’s a yellow card away from a one-match suspension. Liverpool would tear a Bailly-Lindelof pairing to shreds. Could have gone with Tuanzabe at left CB today. Decisions, decisions ... who’d be a manager, eh?” This is indeed a risk. For what it’s worth, Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Luke Shaw are all two bookings away from a ban (though they would have to get both bookings in the next three games including this one, after which they can get another five bookings before they are banned). Burnley’s most-booked players, Jay Rodriguez and Ashley Westwood, are both also two bookings away from a ban, and they have four more games before the yellow card mini-amnesty kicks in.
Here is photographic evidence that Manchester United’s players have arrived at Turf Moor. Looks like they all have to show photo ID on their phones and have the right QR code before they’re let in.
Four changes for Burnley, who bring in Westwood, Pope, Brownhill and Lowton and take out Cork, Norris, Stephens and Bardsley. United make loads of changes to the team that beat Watford - in come De Gea, Maguire, Shaw, Pogba, Matic, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Martial and Cavani - but the only changes to the team that started their last Premier League game see Fred and McTominay drop out, and Matic and Cavani come in.
The teams!
The team sheets have been submitted, and tonight’s key names are these ones:
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Gudmundsson, Brownhill, Westwood, Brady, Wood, Barnes. Subs: Cork, McNeil, Stephens, Rodriguez, Norris, Bardsley, Vydra, Long, Benson.
Man Utd: De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw, Pogba, Matic, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Martial, Cavani. Subs: Mata, Greenwood, Fred, James, Henderson, Alex Telles, van de Beek, Tuanzebe, McTominay.
Referee: Kevin Friend.
LINE-UP | Here is how the Clarets line-up against Manchester United this evening. ⬇️#BURMUN | #UTC | @eToro
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 12, 2021
🚨 All eyes on Turf Moor! 👀
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 12, 2021
Here's your United XI to take on Burnley 💪
🔴 #MUFC
⁰#️⃣ #BURMUN
🏆 #PL
Hello world!
Manchester United have won eight and drawn two of their last 10 matches. They might not have spent much of the season looking much like a title-winning team, but that is title-winning form, and they start the evening second in the table, behind Liverpool on goal difference with this game in hand. Anything but defeat and they will sit alone at the top of the league by bedtime, and the last time they led the league as late into a season as this was eight years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson’s title-winning final campaign.
“We need to get points against Burnley before anyone can say you’re top of the table but that’s a position that we have put ourselves in,” says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. “So I would like to think that we go into this game not thinking about where we’ll end up tomorrow night in the table but where we can end up in the table in May. That’s what matters. You accumulate the points throughout the season so if at one point you think ‘Ah, we’ve made it now, we’ve cracked it,’ and you relax, that’s when it’s going to hit you back. So we’re very focused.”
Burnley have won four of their last eight, and are a different prospect to the side that started the season so poorly. “I don’t think anyone’s doubted [United’s] ability for a long while, it’s getting the consistency into the team and winning games,” says Sean Dyche. “They’re showing much stronger signs of that obviously over the last run of games. The main thing is about our performance levels, and I think they’ve got stronger as the season’s gone on. We’re on a good little run ourselves.”
An interesting evening potentially awaits, or as interesting as evenings involving Dyche’s Burnley ever are (apologies, Burnley fans, but I’ve been burned too many times). Let’s share it, shall we?
