Manchester United have always been an easy target for criticism and clicks, but Burnley boss Scott Parker didn’t want anything to do with it as he gave due credit.
As is now a concerning trend for Manchester United, the 3-2 victory over Burnley didn’t really capture the essence of the game.
Despite creating plenty of chances throughout a breathless first half, the team was unable to score to save their lives.
Parker admitted that Burnley were quite clinical and gave United a headache, but he refrained from getting overly excited by the final result.
Scott Parker raves about Man Utd
The fact that the opposition has praised Man Utd and Ruben Amorim in three of their four games thus far speaks much about them.
Although Fulham could have been behind three goals by halftime, Marco Silva’s brutality was evident from the eye test.
After the Grimsby tragedy, United needed a response, and a “good performance” alone would not suffice.
Parker had the integrity to acknowledge how brilliant Amorim’s team was, even if it looked like it would end the same way as the previous games because United dominated Burnley without taking any opportunities.
A journalist asked him if he was surprised at Man Utd’s lack of “control and stability”, but Parker hit back with a clear response, signalling disagreement with that assertion.
He said: “I thought they had a lot of control and stability in the first half! They looked like a very, very good team. I get the narrative around United at the moment.
“People want to spin whatever narrative they want. That first-half performance from Man Utd was of every bit a top team.
“It was maybe partly down to us at the time, but they’ve got some exceptional players. We ground ourselves and dug in deep. That’s what I see as a reflection on United today.”
Ruben Amorim’s team is building something
Grimsby Town’s elimination from the Carabao Cup and four points from three games hardly indicate a strong start to the season.
Long-term, though, the outcomes always correspond with the performances, whether they are good or terrible, and for United, the performances have been quite strong.
It was clear from observing the players following the victory over Burnley that they were a severely damaged team in need of a sense of accomplishment.
The squad was suffering from a serious loss of confidence, which kept them stuck in a vicious cycle wherein low confidence led to poor finishing, which in turn led to low confidence, and so on.
United must continue to improve these performances and begin turning them into outcomes now that the first victory has been secured.
This season, they have caused all of their own defeats and lost points. The possibilities are endless once they stop shooting themselves in the foot.
It goes beyond exaggeration based on a single performance. It’s a miniature representation of their current season.
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