1. Burnley away is always a tough match for every team in the Premiership. Sean Dyche’s team are tough and physical. They fight for every ball and are very direct in the way they attack, throwing long balls in behind the opponents’ defences to stretch them. The United back four dealt well with those long balls, marshalled by our captain Maguire, who was again magnificent today particularly with his aerial prowess. There was a debate before the match on whether Ole will risk Maguire who is on four yellow cards and would have been suspended for the match against Liverpool if he got another one. I had no doubt in my mind that Ole would play his captain, particularly in a match against Burnley. And it made perfect sense to take the risk. When you think that every match wins you three points, it is less difficult on paper to win against Burnley than against Liverpool, so the risk was well taken.
2. Paul Pogba is a world class player, no doubt about that and everyone knows what he is capable of. Most United fans have been frustrated with his performances for United in general, but maybe more frustrated by his perceived reluctance to commit to United long term. In the last two months however, Paul has been consistently excellent, whether he was deployed off the flank or as a deep lying midfielder. I had commented earlier in the season that there are few matches that Paul can play in midfield because of the lack of discipline to defend in front of our defence. This was one of the matches however, when United were expected to be on the front foot for most of the match and he could use his technical ability to spray passes to his teammates. Scoring a great goal was just the icing on the cake to top off a fantastic performance.
3. United are on top of the league, almost mid-way through the season. Next match on Sunday is against Liverpool in a deserted Anfield. Should we avoid losing that match, we will at least maintain a three-point lead on Liverpool. Can we start dreaming? Yes, why not but we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground. This United team is playing well and if we start converting a bigger percentage of the chances we create, there is no reason why we cannot challenge till the end. We are still the underdogs and on paper, both Liverpool and City are favourites to fight it out to be Champions. Debating whether United have what it takes to become Champions however, and sitting on top of the League at this point of the season shows how far we have come along under Ole. The Manager has instilled a new belief in the United players and the fans and the mentality has changed from two years ago. We are on a run and long may it continue.
Looking forward to receiving your thoughts on the Facebook page. GGMU!
Article contributed by Contributor Roderick. Comments are appreciated on our Facebook page.