Manchester United closed the calendar year in the Premier League in style on Thursday evening. At Old Trafford, Ralf Rangnick’s team had enough against Burnley and it was 3-1 for the home team. The Red Devils close 2021 as sixth in the ranking; Burnley remains eighteenth. Despite the absence of his direct competitors Paul Pogba (hamstring injury) and Bruno Fernandes (suspension), Donny van de Beek was again unable to start, so the Dutchman seems to know where he stands.
It was a while ago for Burnley: the last three duels with Watford, Aston Villa and Everton were all canceled due to corona. After five minutes goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey almost had to fish. Luke Shaw put Cristiano Ronaldo alone in front of the Welsh goalkeeper, but the Portuguese didn’t have his sights on sharp. Three minutes later it was still hit. Ronaldo appeared to miss a pass from Mason Greenwood; luckily for United Scott picked up McTominay to slide in for the 1-0. The visitors didn’t really have an answer and watched as Shaw almost made it 2-0 after a good rush.
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Cristiano Ronaldo gets it on a silver platter: 3-0! ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNBUR pic.twitter.com/KERcVic8qq— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Dec 30, 2021
The second came within half an hour. Shaw once again steamed up and delivered to Jadon Sancho. The purchase of 85 million, who is having such a hard time finding his place in Manchester, cut in and slid through defender Ben Mee: 2-0. Everything did a complete walk over suspect. Ten minutes before halftime, Ronaldo was also allowed to participate in the production: the routine tapped in after a nice attempt by McTominay on the post. Suddenly Burnley frowned at Old Trafford. Aaron Lennon freed himself after Eric Bailly lost the ball and aimed the ball perfectly behind David de Gea.
Burnley also knows what scoring is! ??
The Clarets do something back just before half time: 3-1 ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNBUR pic.twitter.com/MWPLfW9yJG— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Dec 30, 2021
The fact that both Ronaldo and Lennon scored had a nostalgic touch: both players already scored in the highest English league in the 2005/06 season. Sixteen seasons later, she still managed to do that. Until halftime, little else happened, and United kept the pressure off for a while even after the break. The home side appeared to be satisfied with the 3-1 score. Edinson Cavani came closest to another goal: the Uruguayan completed a header from Ronaldo on Hennessey’s fists. However, the score on the scoreboard remained intact. Van de Beek did not get a single minute and seems ripe for a winter transfer. Erik Pieters was allowed to come in: the Burnley defender came on the field in the last six minutes.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 50 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 42 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 41 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 35 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 31 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 31 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 30 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton W. | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -1 | 25 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | -2 | 25 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 5 | 9 | 4 | -1 | 24 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | -4 | 22 |
| 13 | Southampton | 19 | 4 | 9 | 6 | -9 | 21 |
| 14 | Brentford | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | -4 | 20 |
| 15 | Everton | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -8 | 19 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | -18 | 16 |
| 17 | Watford | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | -13 | 13 |
| 18 | Burnley | 16 | 1 | 8 | 7 | -9 | 11 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 19 | 1 | 8 | 10 | -23 | 11 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 19 | 2 | 4 | 13 | -34 | 10 |
Date:Thursday 30 December 2021, 9:15 pm
Stadium:Old Trafford (Manchester)
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