Anthony Martial Impresses Jose Mourinho

While Jose Mourinho may see the Europa League as Manchester United’s best chance of getting into next season’s Champions League, he won’t want to put all his eggs in one basket, so he needed this 2-0 win at Burnley on Sunday to keep United in contention for a top-four finish.

United were worthy winners at Turf Moor, with Burnley failing to show up. They played perfectly into the visitors’ hands, allowing them the time and space to attack them, which Mourinho’s men took full advantage of.

Anthony Martial opened the scoring with a goal that was all of his making. He carried the ball up the field, played a one-two with Ander Herrera, then slotted past Tom Heaton. Wayne Rooney doubled United’s lead and looked absolutely delighted to get his name on the scoresheet.

It was a surprisingly easy afternoon for United, with Burnley failing to register a single shot on target. Mourinho’s men still aren’t favourites to get one of those top four spots, but they’re doing all they can, as their long unbeaten run continues.

United coped admirably in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scoring a couple and threatening to score more. What was most pleasing was the pace at which they attacked. With no need to lump the ball up in the direction of the Swede, Mourinho’s team looked like the United of old on occasion.

Having struggled this campaign, Martial’s timing to rediscover last season’s form couldn’t be better. With just a handful of games remaining, the Frenchman has a great opportunity to show Mourinho what he is capable of. He did exactly that here.

It was also a good moment for Rooney, who will look back on this season with mixed emotions.

It would have been good to see some of the younger players on the bench given a run out as the game came to a close. With just a two-goal cushion, maybe Mourinho felt he needed to be cautious, as well as giving some game time to players who will likely start against Manchester City on Thursday.

8 — Mourinho picked the right team to get the job done, while also being able to leave important players like Marcus Rashford and Michael Carrick out of the starting lineup ahead of the derby on Thursday. United were in complete control.

GK David De Gea, 6 — Very little to do. He didn’t have a save to make but he did collect a few crosses.

DF Ashley Young, 6 — Proving to be a useful squad player, Young put in a decent shift at right-back. His corner delivery was good and he spent plenty of time supporting United on the attack.

DF Eric Bailly, 7 — Made a crucial block just before half-time to deny Andre Gray, before making a vital tackle in the box to prevent another goalscoring opportunity. He looked absolutely exhausted by the end of the game.

DF Daley Blind, 6 — Made a few important blocks early on but was caught out on the wing second half, only to be bailed out by Bailly. Won the ball back for United on plenty of occasions and largely did well.

DF Matteo Darmian, 6 — Burnley didn’t pose a huge threat but Darmian did all that was asked of him. He got a toe to the ball to stop Gray from getting a shot away.

MF Ander Herrera, 7 — After stealing the show against Chelsea last weekend, Herrera put in another good performance, seeing more of the ball than anyone else on the pitch. It was his perfectly weighted ball that set up Martial for United’s first.

MF Marouane Fellaini, 6 — The midfielder was happy to get stuck in all afternoon, showing the nastier side of his game on occasion, which was probably needed for a game against Burnley. He had an opportunity to score too but his free header was straight at the goalkeeper.

MF Paul Pogba, 7 — Another dominant performance from Pogba in the centre of the pitch, making his control of the game look effortless. He showed great strength to keep the ball with two players on him to play in Martial in the lead up to the second goal. Came very close to scoring from distance but Heaton got his fingertips to it.

FW Jesse Lingard, 6 — Worked tirelessly and should have claimed an assist for the ball he played through to Rooney. Chased down every ball. Replaced with 20 minutes to play.

FW Wayne Rooney, 6 — Pounced on the opportunity to put United 2-0 up after the goalkeeper couldn’t collect Martial’s effort. He had a good chance to open the scoring from a few yards out before that but couldn’t get the required power behind his shot. Booked for dissent after repeatedly complaining about the referee’s decisions and didn’t really get going in the second half.

FW Anthony Martial, 8 — Broke at pace and played a one two with Herrera to put United 1-0 up. Created an early chance for Rooney after getting behind the defence but then set up United’s second goal for the captain to put away. Replaced with 10 minutes to play after a good, hard-working performance.

FW Marcus Rashford, 7 — Replaced Lingard with 20 minutes left to play and looked very dangerous.

FW Henrikh Mkhitaryan, N/R — Came on for goalscoring Martial but didn’t really get involved.

MF Michael Carrick, N/R — Came on right at the end for Pogba.