Fernandes spares United's blushes against Burnley
Bruno Fernandes eased the pressure on Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim with a stoppage-time penalty to earn his side a 3-2 victory over Burnley in the Premier League.
United's humiliating Carabao Cup defeat to fourth-tier Grimsby Town had seen the dark clouds descend again over Old Trafford after big-money signings had sparked optimism.
With only one point from its opening two games in the league, however, it felt like a must-win game against Burnley, especially as it had not lost any of its past 23 games against promoted clubs in the Premier League.
Amorim, whose league win percentage from his first 29 games is less than 25 per cent, apologised again to the fans for the Grimsby debacle in his brief programme notes.
His side dominated early on and took a deserved lead through a Josh Cullen own goal in the 27th minute.
But United's wastefulness in front of goal proved costly as Burnley levelled early in the second half through Lyle Foster.
New United signing Bryan Mbeumo restored the home side's lead less than two minutes later but a goalkeeping error by Altay Bayındır allowed Jaidon Anthony to equalise again.
Anthony then pulled the shirt of Amad Diallo in the area and four minutes of video assistant referee (VAR) deliberation eventually awarded a spot-kick, which Fernandes dispatched.
"I was frustrated like any Man United fan, we had chances to score more goals, create more chances. Today, the football was fair – we were the better team," Amorim said.
