Missed chances, dogged mentality and living to fight another day: Burnley left with mixed feelings after Manchester United draw

At any other stage of the season, a point at Old Trafford would not be sniffed at. In fact it would be rightfully celebrated.

But under these circumstances, and given the performance Burnley delivered, it’s difficult not to be left with mixed feelings.

Who knows? This point could well prove pivotal come the end of May. But given Manchester United’s clear deficiencies, you felt that – of the three remaining games against top seven opposition – this one was arguably the most winnable.

That’s entertainment

The game, somewhat unsurprisingly, went as advertised prior to kick-off. United’s style of play, or lack of it, I should say, lends itself to open, end-to-end and haphazard encounters. And so it proved.

There were 43 shots in total (27 for United, 16 to Burnley, for those interested) and the two sides created nine ‘clear’ chances. By way of comparison, there was only one ‘clear’ chance during the recent 1-0 defeat to Everton, the only loss Burnley have suffered in their last nine outings.

That, quite clearly, was a tense, cagey encounter. This was anything but.

Indeed, Burnley could well have opened the scoring after just 12 seconds when David Fofana latched onto Lyle Foster’s clever flick-on only to shoot straight at Andre Onana.

It was one of several presentable openings the Clarets created. Three of them, big ones too, fell to Foster, who – while in general play performed well – unfortunately didn’t have his shooting boots on in front of goal.

He was unlucky with one of the three, seeing his close-range header superbly saved by Onana. But he was off balance with another, lifting a shot over the bar, while his third and final opportunity – a one-on-one opportunity after being played in by Sander Berge – was a chance he really ought to have tucked away.

It wasn’t just the missed chances that were frustrating though, it was also their decision-making that let them down time and time again in the final third.

United, as the aforementioned stats suggest, had chances of their own, of course they did. That’s how they play, with no structure per se, but in moments. They rely on Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho and others to come up with something special. Because of their individual quality, opportunities will inevitably arrive but Burnley were resolute, defended well and Aro Muric was once again in fine form in between the sticks.

On another day, they would have kept a first clean sheet since December and only their third of the campaign, which is quite a telling stat in itself.

But one of Burnley’s consistent flaws this season has been offering up goals for the opposition out of nothing – and that old flaw returned at precisely the wrong time.

With 11 minutes left on the clock, United were flagging and looked to be running out of ideas. But as Burnley built up possession out from the back, Berge – who had otherwise been excellent alongside Josh Cullen in the centre of the park – misplaced one pass to Maxime Esteve. Antony read it, pounced upon it and subsequently fired past Muric.

It was a goal out of nothing. After all of their good work, it seemed like Burnley would come away empty-handed.

But this is a Clarets side with a lot more backbone than perhaps they’ve been given credit for. In recent weeks especially, they’ve shown they’ve got something about them.

While they showed character to fight back and level late on, they also have Onana to thank for his inexplicable decision to poleaxe Zeki Amdouni as he rushed off his line to punch away the ball, just as he did against Wolves right at the start of the season.

John Brooks was sent to the VAR monitor to check, but really he had no option but to point to the penalty spot.

With only three minutes left on the clock, the pressure was on Amdouni. But the substitute coolly sent Onana the wrong way to bag his first goal since January. But more importantly, the goal secured Burnley what could turn out to be a priceless point.

Mentality

What was interesting to note was how Burnley’s players didn’t celebrate the goal, despite the away end being at that end of the ground. Instead, they rushed to get the ball and sprinted back to the halfway line. They sensed the three points were there for the taking, and they were right.

If we’re being honest, anything could have happened during the final stages. Both sides went for it. United could have won it, Burnley could have won it, but instead it ended level.

Again, you couldn’t help but notice how downbeat the Burnley players were at the full-time whistle. They immediately slumped to the turf like this was the final day of the season and their draw had sealed their fate.

We’re not quite at that stage yet, far from it in fact. There’s plenty of football still to be played, with plenty of twists and turns to come.

But was this two points dropped? Perhaps. But if Vincent Kompany’s men are able to pick up some points against Newcastle and Tottenham, giving them something to play for during that final day showdown against Nottingham Forest, this draw could well mean something. You just never know.

But looking at the bigger picture, for a moment, Burnley are playing some really good stuff at the minute.

They’re far from the finished article, but they’ve clearly adapted to the level and are good to watch too. The only question is: has it come too late in the day?

That remains to be seen, but Burnley live to fight another day.