December 31, (THEWILL) – Manchester United beat Burnley 3-1 on Thursday night, with goals from Scott McTominay, Cristiano Ronaldo and a Burnley own-goal to complete the score for the hosts and keep interim manager Ralf Rangnick unbeaten.
McTominay opened the scoring for the hosts in the eighth minute, whipping in a brilliant goal from the edge of the box for his first Premier League goal of the season.
Burnley’s Ben Mee got the smallest touch on Jadon Sancho’s shot and deflected the ball past Wayne Hennessey to extend the United’s lead. When McTominay’s strike was deflected onto the post and rebounded out to Ronaldo, he was able to extend their lead even further.
The visitors had bared their teeth early in the game, with Chris Wood coming close with a header, and they pulled one back when Aaron Lennon broke free and sent a shot across David de Gea and into the far corner.
But, that was as far as it went for the Clarets. The spark of momentum that 38th minute goal enkindled fizzled out as the Red Devils held on to their two-goal cushion to the final whistle, with Fred replacing Ronaldo in the final seconds of the tie.
With the victory, United climbed to sixth place in the table, while Burnley remained in 18th place, two points outside of safety, despite having four games in hand.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
