Sometimes fans can speak volumes without saying anything. So it was when Zeki Amdouni levelled from the penalty spot in the 87th minute and some Manchester United supporters reacted by walking out.
Adding on stoppage time, there were still nine minutes left, classic Fergie time. But those days have long gone and those fans already knew United would be pegged back in yet again, just as they were recently against Chelsea, Liverpool and Coventry.
There were boos at the final whistle to add to those in the second half when manager Erik ten Hag replaced Kobbie Mainoo. Mainoo had played poorly and ten Hag wanted to replace him with Scott McTominay’s fresher legs.
The fans were not interested in his logic and they have clearly had enough to deliver their verdict on ten Hag. Ten Hag admits Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s goal of Champions League football is gone and claims they have two chances of reaching Europe in the league and FA Cup.
“These are the facts,” said the beleaguered United boss. “It’s not easy to get fourth when you’re so far behind. We needed to win. In the past few weeks, we’ve got in winning positions and then given it away. The gap is too big in this phase of the season. We have two opportunities, one in the Premier League and the other in the FA Cup final.”
It’s highly unlikely that either will be enough to satisfy Ratcliffe and he has changed everything at United behind the scenes - bar Ten Hag. That will surely happen at the end of the season and Ratcliffe wants a coach who can take United forward, not backwards as ten Hag has done this campaign.
Every statistic is damning for ten Hag and next-to-bottom Burnley had 16 shots, seven on target, and had 53 per cent possession at Old Trafford. It seemed, though, United had struck the killer blow when the otherwise impressive Sander Berge misplaced a pass to Antony and he ran through to score his first Premier League goal of the season 11 minutes from time.
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But Andre Onana marred his fine display by poleaxing Amdouni when he attempted to clear the ball. This time, unlike in United’s opening game when Onana got away with flattening Wolves ’ Sasa Kalajdzic, the home side conceded a penalty and Amdouni converted it.
Ten Hag is becoming more desperate in his attempts to be positive and claims United are one of the Premier League’s most “entertaining teams” because of all the chances they create. “We’re one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment,” he insisted. “We’re creating loads of chances by playing good football.”
Back in the real world, Burnley aim to be within two points of Nottingham Forest come the final day of the season when they cash at Turf Moor. They have lost just one of their last eight games and Dara O’Shea hopes their fightback has not come too late.
“You’ve hit the nail on the head, we want to be in that position in the last game against Forest,” he said. “Only losing one in eight is massive. It’s our best run of the season and I just hope we haven’t left it too late.
“It’s probably just unfortunate that it’s clicking towards the end of the season. We would have liked it to click a lot earlier to put ourselves in a better position, but this is the hand we’ve been dealt and we’ve just got to crack on with it.”
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