It was a much-needed result and performance to assuage any early uneasiness about Ralph Rangnick’s reign.
Mutterings had already begun to question whether the hipster hero could do the same as manager of a club the size of Manchester United.
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Certainly the early signs in the league were not very good.
A 1–0 home win over Crystal Palace, a lucky win at Norwich by the same scoreline and then a terrific performance for Newcastle when they were lucky enough to score a point.
But it was like a United side overseeing the underdog to ensure their quality as the Premier League bids goodbye to 2021.
An early opener from Scott McTominay was followed by Ben Mee hitting a shot from Jadon Sancho on his own goalkeeper and then Cristiano Ronaldo hitting a loose ball to make it 3-0 after just 35 minutes.
To think it was a good night to meet United after that awful 90 minutes at St. James’ Park.
Well it was definitely a good night to meet Burnley who looked doomed to drop fast. They still have only one win in the league this season.
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He had a mitigation after not playing for 18 days as his last three games were postponed due to Covid.
That virus also struck four players on their first team last night, including goalkeepers Nick Pope and Jay Rodriguez.
Yet it was utterly disappointing as United tore him to pieces.
Rangnik reacted to that performance in the North East by making six changes to his team, only one of which was implemented with Bruno Fernandes being suspended.
Yes, you can expect rotation during this busy period, but several changes told a story as three of the last four were swapped and Marcus Rashford and Fred both dropped out.
None of them could argue and certainly not with the quality of Luke Shaw in his return to the left.
No one could argue with what excelled at night and what Scott McTominay provides for the Red Devils on a regular basis.
He may get a very unfair ride from some pundits.
To me he is appreciated as much as Michael Carrick was during his time at the club.
The drive and energy he gives to midfield on nights like this is central to United.
Eight minutes later he pushed them forward.
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McTominay has that great ability to pick up loose balls from deep and take flight when Ronaldo lost control at the top of the box and the Scotland international curled up in a low shot.
United’s second of 27 minutes owed much to Shaw’s work to win the ball and force Sancho down.
The England winger turned James Tarkowski very smoothly and his low shot cut through the toe of Mee and went inside the away post.
Ronaldo was a bit fussy about not being involved in the goal, but his anger subsided at 35 minutes.
McTominay again came from deep thunder with a shot from 22 yards that crashed straight with the right hand. The ball again came out from Ronaldo who threw it into an empty net.
Easy, yes, but he was there and that’s why he scored so many points, because that’s where he is.
Burnley nicks back three minutes later to give him some hope.
Eric Bailly lost the ball, Aaron Lennon picked it up and made his way to the edge of the field, before firing a superb low cross shot at David de Gea swung into the bottom corner.
It was false hope, however, as United maintained their lead in the second period and came close to extending it.
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Mason Greenwood saved a shot well then McTominay hit another long-distance pile-driver which Wayne Hennessy did well to touch.
So it’s Happy Birthday Sir Alex Ferguson who turns 80 on New Year’s Eve.
And a happy new year to the fifth incumbent since retiring, who may look at least until 2022 with a bit of optimism.
Not as much as the club was around 12 months ago.
On New Year’s Day they beat Aston Villa to move to joint top of the league with Liverpool.
That was during 13 unbeaten league games, ten of which were won.
The win only ensured that United did not finish a year outside the top six for the first time since 1989.
What remains a very long and winding road for this club, small steps on it for another new owner.
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