Manchester United’s 100 per cent record under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come to an end with Burnley holding the Red Devils to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
United were looking for their ninth straight victory under Solskjaer’s leadership, but goals from Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood saw Burnley lead 2-0 with 81 minutes on the clock.
Paul Pogba halved the deficit from the penalty spot in the 87th minute though, before Victor Lindelof came up with a 92nd minute leveller for the Red Devils, who are now just two points off fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League table.
Burnley had to weather an early storm at Old Trafford, with Pereira and Rashford both seeing attempts blocked in the opening five minutes as the home side forced the issue.
The visitors actually had the game’s first shot on target in the eighth minute, but Wood’s attempt from distance never threatened to cause David De Gea problems.
Rashford had a golden chance to make the breakthrough one minute later after Romelu Lukaku found his teammate inside the Burnley box, but the in-form attacker somehow poked wide of the post.
McNeil then fired a long-range attempt over the crossbar down the other end, before Barnes had a shot taken off his tie by Phil Jones as the visitors continued to take the game to United.
Juan Mata started to find space inside the Burnley box as the match approached its 30-minute mark and only a last-ditch challenge from Bardsley prevented the Spaniard from having a fine chance to make the breakthrough.
Pogba’s long-range passing remained a feature of United’s first-half work, but too many balls were over-hit in the final third and Burnley were fairly comfortable as the first period approached its latter stages.
The visitors actually had the ball in the back of the United net in the 33rd minute when Wood lifted the ball over De Gea, but the offside flag was correctly raised.
Luke Shaw had a powerful strike deflected behind for a corner in the 34th minute, before Pogba had a goal chalked off for offside four minutes later as the score remained level at Old Trafford.
Mata had the final attempt of the first period from distance, but the Spaniard’s low strike was always moving wide of Heaton’s post and the two teams headed down the tunnel at 0-0.
Burnley made the breakthrough in the 51st minute when Cork robbed Pereira in a dangerous position before finding Barnes, who smashed into the roof of the net to stun Old Trafford.
It was not Pereira’s night at Old Trafford and it did not come as a surprise when the midfielder was withdrawn for Jesse Lingard in the 63rd minute, with Barnes’s strike still separating the two teams.
United continued to dominate the ball approaching the final 20 minutes, but Burnley were comfortable defending deep, with the likes of Tarkowski and Ben Mee outstanding on the night.
Burnley incredibly doubled their lead in the 81st minute when Wood headed an Ashley Westwood cross into the bottom corner of the net to silence the home supporters once again.
United halved the deficit in the 87th minute when Pogba scored from the penalty spot after Hendrick had fouled Lingard.
Heaton made a stunning save to keep out a strike from Pogba in the final minute as the pressure continued, but United found an equaliser in the 92nd minute through Lindelof, who converted after Heaton had made another brilliant stop to deny Sanchez.
There was still time for the home side to look for a third, but the night ended 2-2 as United moved a step closer to fourth-placed Chelsea in the table.
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