Darren Fletcher failed to win his first game as Manchester United’s interim head coach, but Jadon Anthony’s incredible striker helped Burnley to a 2-2 draw.
Benjamin Sesco’s second-half brace turned the game around after Aiden Haven’s unfortunate own goal against Turf Moor, but the Premier League’s struggling side scored the equalizer as United missed the chance to move up to fourth place just two days after Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
Burnley didn’t have a shot on target in the first half, but they didn’t need to take the lead at the end of the first half. Bashir Humphries’ cross deflected well off an unfortunate Aiden Haven shot before deflecting past Senne Ramens and the ball into the loop netting.
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Danyal Khan and Adam Bate discuss Darren Fletcher’s first game as Manchester United manager after draw with Burnley
Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, United had plenty of chances to equalize before the interval, but Sesko completed his hat-trick with a chance saved by Martin Dubravka. Humphries and Maxime Esteve cleared the attack off the line. Lisandro Martinez’s goal was canceled out.
Fletcher replaced Matheus Cunha and Bruno Fernandes at the interval and the skipper benefited from a pass through and Sesco finishing strongly. The Slovenian then scored his second goal, converting Patrik Dorg’s cross.
It was to Burnley’s credit that they found a response thanks to substitute Anthony cutting in with his left foot and firing an unstoppable shot high and past Lamence. United youngster Shay Lacey almost responded, but his effort was deflected off the bar.
Instead, it was United’s third successive draw against Wolves, Leeds and Burnley. Despite this, Fletcher was serenaded by the away supporters as Jason Wilcox and Omar Berada looked on. It was a period of change off the pitch, but on the pitch it was once again a difficult time.
Fletcher: Sesco “The biggest positive”
Manchester United interim head coach Darren Fletcher has spoken about Benjamin Sesco.
“Yesterday, I sat down with him and showed him the video of his movements and how the opportunities come, just to keep believing and keep going.
“The rest of the team will have to look for him more as well. And like all strikers, when you score your first goal and put it into the back of the net, you get confidence and I hope that confidence starts flowing to him from there.”
“Everyone knows his qualities. I thought he was great tonight. He led the line really well and maybe he could have kept going and gotten a hat-trick.”
“It was a really positive night for him and definitely the biggest positive of the night was his two goals. I hope that’s good for the future of Manchester United.”
‘Sesco not good enough for Manchester United’
Tim Sherwood told Sky Sports:
“The positive is that Sesco scored a goal. Hopefully he will gain confidence. It took him six months to recover, but I’m happy for him.”
“He played tough and I would have taken him off the pitch at half-time and never put on a Manchester United shirt again. I stand by what I said, he’s not good enough to play for Manchester United.”
“He played in one game against Burnley, who are relegated, so hopefully we can start to see something different from him.”
Parker: Big takeaway for us.
Burnley manager Scott Parker said in a press conference:
“Everything I asked of the team and the team asked of themselves was there. I wanted a reaction. We were bitterly disappointed with the overall performance and what we produced at Brighton. This was about getting back to what we need to bring to a Premier League game of football.”
“We started the game really well and to lose 2-1 we needed a fight back and we produced it. It was a step forward for us as a team, a big point overall, but more importantly the character of the team in adversity and they stood up and got the result. This is definitely a stepping stone.”
