Man United show worrying habits despite Burnley win

Ruben Amorim sat back in his dugout, feet up, looking drained.

- RICHARD JOLLY

Then he turned to face the supporters. After opting not to watch 26 penalties at Grimsby, Manchester United's fate came down to one against Burnley. Amorim didn't see this, either. Bruno Fernandes, looking rather less nervous than his manager, drilled it under Martin Dubravka for a 97th-minute decider. United, the club that sing about having won “the lot”, had finally won a game this season.

They did it the hard way; perhaps the ludicrous way. Yet in a tale of penalties, missed at Grimsby and revoked in Manchester, there came a reminder that Fernandes has the mettle and mentality required. He had converted twice in the shootout at Blundell Park but blazed over at Fulham last week.

“I did not think Bruno would miss a second in a row,” said Amorim. He was right. His captain belatedly settled a game United should have had determined far earlier, scoring the decisive goal from their 26th shot.

Scott Parker, whose Burnley had been wretched in the first half and roused in a fine comeback in the second, confronted referee Sam Barrott at the final whistle, though his grievance lay with The VAR, David Webb. “The way the game ends, it is the way the game has gone - quadruple checking every minute,” he said. “It’s not the ref, it’s a fella 200-odd miles away in a box.”