Super sub Jesse scores 91-min equaliser to earn a point in 2-2 draw v Burnley
Jose Mourinho's troubles mounted as Manchester United needed a 91st-minute equaliser from substitute Jesse Lingard to rescue a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Burnley yesterday. First-half goals from Ashley Barnes and Steven Defour had put Burnley on course for their first victory at Old Trafford in over 55 years. But, after pulling United back into contention with his first goal on 53 minutes, Lingard struck a dramatic equaliser in the first of five added minutes.
Man United's Jesse Lingard (centre) celebrates the second goal with Luke Shaw during their EPL match against Burnley yesterday. Pic/AFP
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A Juan Mata free-kick was only cleared to the edge of the area by Ben Mee and Ashley Young's shot took a kind defection, into the path of Lingard who converted clinically through a crowded area. Second placed United are now 12 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, who can extend their advantage at Newcastle on Wednesday.
Burnley strike
Burnley took barely two minutes to take the lead, from a free-kick conceded by Marcos Rojo, who was booked for his trouble, after he brought down Jeff Hendrick as he sprinted down the left. Icelandic international Johann Berg Gudmundson took the set-piece which badly exposed United's current defensive frailties as the ball struck Romelu Lukaku in the chest and, with his team mates slow to respond, it was left for Barnes to poke the ball in from close range.
Worse would follow after 36 minutes when Ashley Young tripped Scott Arfield, 25 yards out and dead centre in front of the United goal, presenting Defour with the perfect opportunity to send a magnificent right-foot free-kick soaring into the top left-hand corner. After Mourinho had been enraged by his team conceding a late equaliser at Leicester at the weekend, the United manager must have been equally angered by the first half effort here.
Sublime finish
Lingard reduced arrears with a sublime finish, back-heeling Young's right-wing cross past his marker Kevin Long and into the corner of the Burnley net to set up the grandstand finale. But there was no disguising the setback this draw handed Mourinho, with a handful of supporters booing the team off at the interval. Even before doubling their lead, Burnley might have had a second when Arfield's first-time volley clipped the bar on its way over the home goal. United handed a first start since early April to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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