Lacklustre Manchester United scrape through Burnley

OLD TRAFFORD: If there was anything colder than a freezing Manchester day, it was the performance of the Reds as Manchester United were made to work hard for the three points that saw them beat Burnley 3-1, thanks to a first-half double from substitute Chris Smalling and Robin van Persie's late penalty (the first this season for the club).
If it wasn't for the unlikely hero and man of the match Smalling who scored twice - both headers - the first one coming precisely 22 seconds after he came into the pitch as a substitute, Man U definitely didn't look like a team that deserves to be third on the premiere league charts after Chelsea and Manchester City.
Underdogs Burnley played with a heart and if not for some close chances, were definitely more deserved to emerge winners on Wednesday evening at the theatre of dreams.
Though the stadium was a full house with 70,000 fans, for most of the match it was the voice of the Burnley supporters that could be heard loud enough.
The first half belonged to the visitors whose fans chanted "we only cost three quid".
Man U manager Louis van Gaal praised substitutes Chris Smalling and Ander Herrera for their contribution in the victory.
When asked if the early enforced withdrawal of Phil Jones and Daley Blind upset his side, Van Gaal said "I don't think the subs did badly. I like Smalling. He scores two times and he's never scored twice in a match because I asked him. Furthermore, in the second half, he was improving his game. I was very happy with him. Also Herrera, who was coming in for Blind, played very well, I think".
The Reds struggled to impress in the first period and were fortunate to go into the interval with a 2-1 advantage.
"It was not good in the first half," admitted van Gaal. "We didn't perform well and Burnley were the better team on the pitch. But we were ahead in the result and I was very happy with that".
Smalling, who came on for the injured Phil Jones after five minutes said "It wasn't a 3-1 score line game. Especially in that first half, we all let ourselves down. We could have played much better".
"The manager said in the dressing room that the first half was unacceptable and all the players know that. If we can win games playing that badly, then it shows that if we do play well and it all clicks, then there will be a lot better performances at Old Trafford, that's for sure".
Burnley's fitness and fire seemed to take United by surprise, even though Smalling says the players were well aware of the qualities the visitors would bring.
"They came out of the traps, they pressed us well, but we didn't find the solutions to that in the first half. We were very lucky to come in at half-time ahead. We knew that Burnley run hard and run the channels. We knew their game-plan but we didn't get to grips with it".