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Paul Pogba’s second-half volley was enough to give Manchester United victory at Burnley and send them three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
United dominated a contest in which Burnley failed to register a single shot on target until stoppage time.
But they were struggling to make a breakthrough until Marcus Rashford picked Pogba out with an excellent cross to the edge of the area.
The Frenchman’s connection was perfect, although it took a deflection off Matthew Lowton to ensure the ball went past Nick Pope and into the Burnley net.
Although Burnley had three decent chances in a frantic ending, United secured the win to head the table after 17 rounds of matches.
It is the first time that has happened this many games into the season since December 2012, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final, title-winning campaign.
New territory for post-Ferguson United
In the seven seasons since Ferguson retired, United have never been higher than second at this stage of the season.
But they were already well adrift of Manchester City during that 2017-18 campaign under Jose Mourinho.
Surprisingly, in points terms, the nearest they have been to the top at this stage was under David Moyes, when they were eighth but only eight points behind the leaders after 17 games.
They made hard work of their ninth win in 11 Premier League games. On his return from a three-match ban, Edinson Cavani wasted two excellent chances and Bruno Fernandes fired a first-half effort straight at Nick Pope.
Anthony Martial was off target with two first-half chances before failing to convert in the final seconds after he had been sent clean through.
None of this matters now though and, while manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right to say nobody remembers what the table looks like in January, Pogba’s clenched fist as Burnley’s last chance went begging indicated the importance of these three points.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Burnley
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Squad number1Player namePope
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Squad number2Player nameLowton
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Squad number5Player nameTarkowski
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Squad number6Player nameMee
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Squad number23Player namePieters
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Squad number7Player nameGudmundsson
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Squad number18Player nameWestwood
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Squad number8Player nameBrownhill
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Squad number12Player nameBrady
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Squad number9Player nameWood
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Squad number10Player nameBarnes
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Squad number11Player nameMcNeil
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Squad number19Player nameRodriguez
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Squad number27Player nameVydra
Manchester United
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Squad number11Player nameGreenwood
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Squad number38Player nameTuanzebe
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Squad number39Player nameMcTominay
Line-ups
Burnley
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Pope
- 2Lowton
- 5Tarkowski
- 6Mee
- 23Pieters
- 7Gudmundsson
- 18WestwoodBooked at 62mins
- 8Brownhill
- 12BradySubstituted forMcNeilat 65′minutes
- 9WoodSubstituted forVydraat 80′minutes
- 10BarnesSubstituted forRodriguezat 88′minutes
Substitutes
- 4Cork
- 11McNeil
- 16Stephens
- 19Rodriguez
- 25Norris
- 26Bardsley
- 27Vydra
- 28Long
- 41Benson
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 29Wan-Bissaka
- 3Bailly
- 5Maguire
- 23ShawBooked at 32mins
- 6Pogba
- 31Matic
- 10RashfordSubstituted forGreenwoodat 80′minutes
- 18Bruno FernandesBooked at 45minsSubstituted forMcTominayat 89′minutes
- 9MartialSubstituted forTuanzebeat 90+5′minutes
- 7Cavani
Substitutes
- 8Mata
- 11Greenwood
- 17Fred
- 21James
- 26Henderson
- 27Telles
- 34van de Beek
- 38Tuanzebe
- 39McTominay
Live Text
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Match ends, Burnley 0, Manchester United 1.
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Second Half ends, Burnley 0, Manchester United 1.
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Foul by Jay Rodriguez (Burnley).
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Harry Maguire (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. Matej Vydra (Burnley) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right.
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Substitution, Manchester United. Axel Tuanzebe replaces Anthony Martial.
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Attempt saved. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Edinson Cavani.
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Attempt blocked. James Tarkowski (Burnley) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Jóhann Gudmundsson (Burnley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
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Foul by James Tarkowski (Burnley).
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Paul Pogba (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Substitution, Manchester United. Scott McTominay replaces Bruno Fernandes.
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VAR Decision: No Penalty Burnley.
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Attempt missed. Matej Vydra (Burnley) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Ben Mee following a corner.
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Substitution, Burnley. Jay Rodriguez replaces Ashley Barnes.
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Corner, Burnley. Conceded by Eric Bailly.
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Attempt blocked. Matej Vydra (Burnley) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
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Offside, Burnley. Erik Pieters tries a through ball, but Ben Mee is caught offside.
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Attempt missed. James Tarkowski (Burnley) header from the left side of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Josh Brownhill following a set piece situation.
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