Manchester United were banking on Anthony Martial delivering here in more ways than one. With Marcus Rashford rested and Zlatan Ibrahimovic coming to terms with a cruciate knee ligament injury that Jose Mourinho admitted will be hard for a 35-year-old – even one as strong as the Swede – to deal with, the United manager really needed his stand-ins to deliver in his hour of need.
They did that and then some, a landmark, if costly, goal for Martial followed by something of a collector’s item for that forgotten man Wayne Rooney, the combined effect of which was an invaluable three points against Burnley in the battle for the Premier League top four and a huge shot in the arm ahead of Thursday’s derby at Manchester City. Win at the Etihad Stadium and United will leapfrog their neighbours into fourth, even if Mourinho still seemed to be prioritising the Europa League on Sunday.
If Martial’s strike helps to secure Champions League football and, with it, a £40 million cash windfall, the club will doubtless consider the £8.4 million bill that accompanied it money well spent. The striker’s 25th goal for United since his move from Monaco in September 2015 triggered the first of three €10 million instalments to the French club to take his transfer fee to almost £45 million.
The 21-year-old has not looked a £45 million player too often this season. In fact, he has been rebuked by Mourinho more times than he will probably care to remember. But he took the fight to Burnley, leading from the front and everyone else followed behind as United made light of Thursday’s energy-sapping encounter against Anderlecht to produce one of their most accomplished performances of the season and stretch their unbeaten run in the league to 23 matches.
Paul Pogba limped off at the end, “dead” on his feet according to Mourinho, who raised the prospect of resting the midfielder against City, but do not count on it. Like Martial and defender Eric Bailly, Pogba excelled. “I cannot choose a player because they all performed really well in my eyes in relation to the plan and to the demands of their job,” Mourinho said. “They were all phenomenal.”
With injuries mounting and fatigue claiming more victims, the last thing Mourinho would have wanted was a slog, but as Liverpool, Everton and champions Leicester, all beaten at Turf Moor this season, and leaders Chelsea, held to a 1-1 draw, will testify, that is usually what opponents get. That United made such relatively light work of Burnley, then, spoke volumes. Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo’s names adorned the back of the training tops that the United players wore during the warm-up but neither were missed. United have seldom made life easy for themselves in the league, wasting chances to strike an early blow, encouraging opponents and invariably inviting pressure.
