Chapter 525: Sleepwalking
The continuous victories have put Manchester United in high spirits. The players are in a good mood as well.
After a pleasant Christmas, Manchester United faced Burnley in their first match of the second half of the season on Boxing Day. If United could beat Burnley at home, they would complete a sweep of all 19 other Premier League teams.
However, since the international break in November, United had been playing two matches a week, leading to fatigue among the players. The match was only about 65 hours after the last game before Christmas, so the main players hadn't fully recovered. Mourinho had no choice but to field a different lineup, giving players like Bruno who played against Leicester a rest.
In fact, the rotated squad had only rested for six days, having played in the League Cup semi-final on the 20th.
Burnley took the lead just 3 minutes into the match. Rojo fouled Hendrick at the edge of the box and was shown a yellow card. Gudmundsson's free-kick from the left was headed away by McTominay but blocked by Kevin Long. Barnes scored from close range.
Conceding an early goal left the United players bewildered. Burnley, emboldened, launched wave after wave of attacks.
In the 12th minute, Gudmundsson crossed from the right, and Fellaini failed to clear the ball. Arfield's volley from 12 yards out hit the crossbar.
The crossbar strike shocked everyone at United, making them feel they had narrowly escaped further trouble.
United's performance improved slightly afterward, creating some chances. However, Ashley Young and Mata's shots were heroically saved by Burnley's goalkeeper, Pope.
In the 36th minute, United suffered another blow. Ashley Young fouled Arfield, and Defour scored directly from a 25-yard free-kick into the top left corner, putting United 0-2 down at home.
While Burnley's players celebrated wildly, Old Trafford fell silent. United fans couldn't remember the last time their team was two goals down at home.
Mourinho looked grim on the sidelines.
Even though he had prepared for a tough match and possibly falling behind when fielding a completely rotated squad, being 2-0 down in the first half was beyond his expectations.
Taking advantage of Burnley's goal celebration, Mourinho called Ashley Young, United's captain for the match, to the sidelines, instructing the team to retreat and strengthen their defense for the remaining minutes of the first half.
With United focusing on defense, they managed to avoid conceding more goals before halftime.
As the first half entered injury time, Mourinho left the pitch early.
No one knew what happened in United's dressing room at halftime, but it was certain that Mourinho was furious. After all, since taking over at Old Trafford, he had never faced such an embarrassing situation at home.
At halftime, United made two substitutions. Bruno and Rashford came on for Rojo and Ibrahimovic. United switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3 formation, with Ashley Young, Phil Jones, and Darmian forming the back three. Bruno, Herrera, Fellaini, and Mata occupied the midfield, and Lingard, McTominay, and Rashford made up the front three.
Burnley tried to catch United off guard at the start of the second half, hoping to score another goal while United's players were still regaining focus. If they could score again, they would have a great chance of becoming the first team to beat United this season.
The ball quickly reached Gudmundsson's feet. The 27-year-old Icelandic international, usually a right winger, was playing up front on the left today. He attempted to break through United's right back, Ashley Young, and succeeded with a quick turn and acceleration. However, his effort was immediately thwarted by Herrera, who intercepted the ball.
Herrera didn't hold onto the ball but quickly passed it to Bruno upfield.
Bruno received the ball and turned in one fluid motion, facing the attacking direction as the ball rolled to him.
Aware of Bruno's importance, Burnley's experienced 28-year-old midfielder Jack Cork closed in on him, while another midfielder, Hendrick, stayed back, ready to assist.
Bruno had no intention of getting tangled up with two players in midfield. United's style was quick and offensive, so wasting time in midfield was unwise. He swiftly passed the ball out as he turned, leaving Jack Cork lunging at thin air and Hendrick's defensive efforts in vain. Bruno's pass reached Lingard on the right.
Lingard didn't stick to the right flank but passed the ball horizontally to the central area where McTominay had dropped back to receive it.
As United's striker, McTominay was a key focus for Burnley's defense, so one of Burnley's center-backs followed him.
McTominay quickly passed the ball back to Bruno, avoiding close marking from the center-back.
Bruno didn't take much time to adjust. He stopped the ball with his left foot and, with a swift movement, used the outside of his right foot to send a penetrating through ball.
The quick succession of movements left Burnley's defenders and midfielders with no time to react. Jack Cork could only watch as the ball sped past him toward Burnley's penalty area.
The ball flew through the gap between Burnley's center-back and right-back, reaching Darmian, who had made a rapid overlapping run.
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