Bruno Fernandes’ 97th-minute penalty handed Manchester United a thrilling 3-2 win in their Premier League game against Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The home side should have been home and dry in the first half itself, given the sheer number of chances created. However, they went into the break only a goal ahead courtesy of an own goal.
Just like in the Fulham game, the Clarets delivered a sucker punch by equalising soon after the restart. This time, however, United responded instantly with Bryan Mbeumo netting his first Premier League goal in red.
Scott Parker’s side equalised again after 10 minutes, and Old Trafford feel eerily silent, fearing another poor result was on the cards.
Biggest positive But the skipper had other plans, as he stepped up to secure all three points for the 20-time English league champions, and Matthijs de Ligt claimed the mental fortitude shown by the team was the biggest takeaway from the game.
“I think the fact that we came after their first goal, we immediately scored 2-1, and after 2-2, we still believed to score 3-2 is the biggest positive of today,” the Dutchman told MUTV.
“But we all know getting away with that today is not every week, so we really need to improve on that.”
While the entire team rushed to celebrate with the skipper, Matthijs de Ligt held back as he knew there was still time left on the watch and he wanted to conserve his energy for one last push.
That certainly proved to be a smart call on the centre-back’s part.
Lack of celebration “I was really happy [after Bruno Fernandes’ penalty] but I didn’t go to the corner post with the others to celebrate, because I was really tired and I wanted to save my energy and focus for the remaining minutes.
“I congratulated Bruno and then returned to my position.”
Despite the topsy-turvy start to the season, the Dutchman’s form has been one of the few positives so far, and he explained how the squad seemed desperate for the win.
And while Ruben Amorim will be naturally delighted with all three points, the Netherlands international pointed out the areas of concern that still needs work.
Profligacy in front of goal The lack of clinicalness up top is a concern, as ideally, United should have beaten Arsenal in their opening game considering their dominant performance, while Fulham should have been swept aside given the number of openings created in the first half.
The same scenario was repeated against the newly-promoted side as well, something the coaches need to work on after the international break.
“We really needed the victory. It was the only thing that mattered today. That’s what we told each other.
“The first half was better, with quite a few chances without conceding any, but not scoring more kept them in the game, and that’s something we can improve.”
Fans have often pointed to the fact that the team always seems to run out of steam in the second half, and that was a point in the ex-Ajax ace also reiterated.
Losing steam “In the second half, we felt a drop in energy and focus, and you could see they could score out of nothing.
“We need to improve that. Reacting quickly to their goal is important, but we know it can’t happen like that every week, so we really need to work on that.”
Clearly a lot to work on, which is why Amorim said he was not totally delighted with the team’s display. The win will have eased the pressure surrounding his job, now for the players to keep this momentum up in the Manchester derby up next.
Feature image Jan Kruger via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
