Mason Greenwood scores twice as Manchester United beat Burnley after second half improvement
Mason Greenwood’s two goals put Manchester United within eight points of the Premier League summit and gave a reminder to Gareth Southgate ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted before this clash that he was refusing to give up on the title and his team are at least applying a little pressure to Manchester City.
Greenwood has now scored five goals in his last six games and is staking a claim for a place in the England squad this summer, having been dropped early in the season for breaking Covid-19 safety rules then finding himself in the Under-21s.
United broke the deadlock after the interval with a goal created by Marcus Rashford’s 40-yard dribble with the ball glued to his feet, plus a dummy from Bruno Fernandes that turned the Burnley defence without using a touch.
Rashford’s run saw him nutmeg Matt Lawton before heading towards the penalty area and delivering a cross. Fernandes casually left the ball, allowing Greenwood to tuck away his fourth goal in six appearances.
The foundations were laid for a routine victory but Burnley have enjoyed some recent success at the Theatre of Dreams, getting results in their previous five visits. They were level within two minutes with a straightforward set-piece goal that Sean Dyche has practiced thousands of times on the training ground.
Ashley Westwood swung over the corner and James Tarkowski escaped the attention of Aaron Wan-Bissaka before climbing above Harry Maguire to head into the top corner.
But Greenwood put United back in front after Paul Pogba chipped the ball out to the left flank following a partially cleared corner. The England Under-21 forward cut inside and his shot flicked off Jack Cork into the near post.
Donny van de Beek came on to set up fellow substitute Edinson Cavani with a tap-in during stoppage time to wrap up the win.
