Burnley vs Manchester United result: Player ratings as Paul Pogba sends Red Devils top

Burnley 0-1 Man United: Pogba’s volley proved the difference at Turf Moor

Paul Pogba (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Manchester United beat Burnley 1-0 to move top of the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The first half saw more incidents than scoring chances, though Harry Maguire had the ball in the net only to be denied for a foul as he jumped for his header. Robbie Brady saw a yellow card overturned and Luke Shaw given one instead when either player could have seen red, as VAR continued to be the main protagonist.

United were much-improved after half-time, with complete dominance of possession and a succession of half-chances, spurned by Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial.

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The away side kept pushing though and Paul Pogba sent a volley from the edge of the box into the net, via a deflection, to give United a deserved lead which they never looked like relinquishing. Here are the player ratings from the game at Turf Moor.

Burnley

Nick Pope - 7. A good save from Martial in the first half but beaten by the deflection on Pogba’s shot.

Matthew Lowton - 5. Average defensive performance against Martial and never really provided any kind of attacking thrust.

James Tarkowski - 7. Did well against Cavani most of the time and repelled most of United’s crosses.

Ben Mee - 6. An error of judgement led to Cavani almost getting in. Not his most commanding display.

Erik Pieters - 5. Gave up a lot of space after the break as he struggled to keep up with the pace of the switch of play.

Johann Berg Gudmundsson - 5. Hard-working as expected but no real creativity.

Josh Brownhill - 6. A typical Burnley midfield showing, lots of running and tilting to cover spaces.

Ashley Westwood - 7. Very neat on the ball and hard-working as ever. Would have wanted better set-piece delivery at times.

Robbie Brady - 5. Didn’t really offer an outlet as he is capable of.

Ashley Barnes - 5. Typically physical and combative but very little end product.

Chris Wood - 6. Caused plenty of struggles for the United defenders but wasn’t a threat on goal. Neat link play at times.

Paul Pogba produced a standout performance (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Man United

David de Gea - 6. Mostly had himself a nice chilly evening watching the action unfold from 60 yards away.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 5. Beaten in the air, for strength and for skill. In attack he didn’t really provide much in the way of link-up or crossing.

Eric Bailly - 9. His pace got the team out of trouble more than once, but more often it was simply his excellent positional work and bravery in the block.

Harry Maguire - 7. Won a succession of big headers to keep Wood and Barnes at bay.

Luke Shaw - 6. Very fortunate not to be sent-off. Dangerous with crosses at times and defended fairly well.

Nemanja Matic - 6. Largely overrun in the middle and off the pace of the game until his team started to dominate. Then his control and ability to stop attacks came to the fore.

Paul Pogba - 9. The driving force of the team. Defended well first half, strode forward at will second. Some clever passes between the lines and a thunderous hit for the goal.

Marcus Rashford - 5. Very, very quiet out on the right wing. Offered nothing for over an hour, then delivered the cross for Pogba’s goal.

Bruno Fernandes - 6. Cut a frustrated figure in the first half and was booked for “whingeing” in the words of Gary Neville. A few long-range shots didn’t test the keeper.

Anthony Martial - 7. The biggest goal threat of the first half, with a blocked overhead kick and a top corner-bound strike from range.

Edinson Cavani - 6. A willing runner and aerial combatant but fluffed his line with a big chance early in the second half.