Analysis: Burnley

Sean Dyche’s Burnley started in a 4-5-1 but switched to 4-4-2 in attack. The front pair of Ashley Barnes and Jeff Hendrick pressed hard, with the support of Jack Cork and Steven Defour, in an attempt to prevent Manchester United playing out from the back. Hendrick was also quick to drop into midfield and provide defensive cover in the central channel, with a view to stopping United finding a route through the home side’s compact defensive unit.

The Clarets pressed as a team, making it more difficult for United to move up the pitch, and held the right defensive shape to avoid gaps appearing in between the lines. They were equally compact and comfortable dropping back to defend on the edge of their own area, but kept numbers on the flanks to restrain the attack-minded United full-backs. They were typically strong at defending crosses into their box.

Burnley reorganised well in their defensive transition, initially pressing the man on the ball and then dropping back into their own half. The first player to press did a vital job in giving his defensive teammates time to reorganise comfortably, making it difficult for United to counter-attack quickly. On one of the few occasions United were able to break effectively, however, Anthony Martial scored what became the decisive goal.

In attack, Dyche’s team went direct. Nick Pope, who made some impressive saves, and his back four played the ball quickly to Barnes or Hendrick, who looked for teammates – most notably Johann Berg Gudmundsson – to join the attack from midfield. The wide players managed to use the space in behind Paul Pogba to put pressure on Nemanja Matic, but in the final third they struggled for penetration. Their crossing game rarely threatened a well-organised United defence.

While they were quick to launch counter-attacks, poor decision-making and slow passing often restricted the home side’s effectiveness in this area. They looked to offer a threat from set-pieces, again with Barnes as the chief target, but they lacked the accuracy required to seriously trouble David de Gea in the United goal.