Scott Parker's 'mixed feelings' after Burnley's defeat to Man Utd and set-piece frustration
While Scott Parker’s post-match thoughts were overshadowed by the VAR controversy, he was keen to stress how proud he was of Burnley’s display.
While the Clarets ultimately came away empty-handed courtesy of Manchester United’s last-gasp penalty, there were plenty of positives to take away.
While the visitors were fortunate to only be one down at half-time, they caused the Red Devils all sorts of problems during the second-half and would have been well worthy of their point had they held on.
As it was, Ruben Amorim’s side claimed a last-gasp winner after some late VAR controversy which spoiled an otherwise positive afternoon at Old Trafford.
“I think mixed emotions really,” Parker said afterwards.
"I’m immensely proud of the group, immensely proud of the players, the fans, football club in general, to be fair, coming to a real tough place.
"I thought our second-half performance was nothing short of incredible, because we showed absolutely humongous character.
“After a really, really tough start, certainly during the first-half, it was tough against a really, really good side. We had Martin [Dubravka] to thank, probably just getting in at half-time at 1-0. But second-half, I thought we were top really.
“Then the other emotion that you have is you're gutted. I'm gutted for the fans, I'm gutted for the players and the group because the game gets decided on a last-minute VAR call that obviously makes us not gain the point that I felt that we deserved.”
While Parker was keen to focus on the positives, he did admit the Clarets got their setup wrong from set-pieces.
United’s first goal came from a corner as Casemiro was left completely unmarked to head onto the crossbar, where the ball then rebounded onto the Josh Cullen and just over the line, despite Dubravka’s best efforts.
Burnley continued to be undone from corners for the remainder of the game too.
“Yes, it was frustrating,” Parker conceded. “Our setup was wrong.
"That's where the problem was and it was frustrating. We knew there were a danger on set-plays, a lot of bodies, big targets, so yes I disappointed with that.”
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