Manchester United almost lost when they hosted Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday (29/1) local time. Left behind 0-2, the Red Devils managed to equalize when the game entered the final minutes.
Man United have repeatedly tried to score since the early minutes. Inaccurate finishes and the Clarets’ pretty good performance made the public host unable to witness the goals of his favorite team.
In the 51st minute Andreas Pereira’s error in receiving Phil Jones feedback immediately used by Burnley players. Ashley Barnes welcomed the ball into the penalty box and fired a powerful shot that vibrated the net of goalkeeper David de Gea.
Repeatedly attacking, Man United were unable to break into Tom Heaton’s goal who appeared neatly under the crossbar of Burnley. Man United even conceded for the second time in the 81st minute when Chris Woods was not guarded in the penalty box by Ashley Westwood.
A goal for Man United was only present in the 87th minute after Jeff Hendrick pulled Jesse Lingard. Paul Pogba’s kick from the spot produced a goal that cut the distance. When the game entered extra time, Man United equalized after Victor Lindelof made use of a gagging ball from Heaton on Alexis Sanchez’s chances.
A score of 2-2 made Man United fail to stick tightly to Arsenal, who now have 47 points and are in fifth position.
Manchester City loses
Man City scored a quick goal when they visited Newcastle United’s headquarters at the Saint James Park Stadium. In just 25 seconds Sergio Aguero completed the opportunity from close range after receiving a header from David Silva following a quick kick-off which immediately troubled Newcastle.
The host replied through a goal through Salomon Rondon who used feedback from Isaac Hayden. Rondon’s final finish in the 66th minute was not able to be secured by Martin Dubravka. The Magpies turned ahead through Matt Ritchie’s penalty. The referee pointed to the spot after Fernandinho tackled Sean Longstaff.
Failing to reach points, Man City are still ranked second and four points adrift of Liverpool.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated that he was not panicked and pessimistic after his side lost 2-1 to Newcastle in an English League match. The defeat of Newcastle made ‘The Citizens’ now likely seven points behind Liverpool who have not played their 24th week match.
“We are still in January. Of course when we are behind the top leaders, we cannot lose points because it will help the leaders.”
“The remainder of our match has also decreased by one but we are still in January, so there are still a lot of games to play,” Guardiola was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.
Guardiola believes that in the next four months there are still many things that might happen. Estimates of the chances of champions believed Guardiola is still unpredictable.
“Indeed there will be many points in our distance if they win, but this is January, not April or May. We still have many matches and everything happens.”
“After this, the team played for many reasons, whether to stay in the Premier League, to qualify for the Europa League or Champions League,” Guardiola said.
After this, Manchester City will still face a series of difficult matches namely duel against Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea in the next three matches.
“In each game we have to give our best, try not to give up and move forward,” Guardiola said.
