Ralf Rangnick’s shake-up pays off Man hit Burnley 3-1

Ralf Rangnick rang the changes and got a much-improved performance from his Manchester United players in a 3-1 win over Burnley, which moves his side up to sixth in the Premier League table.

After a disappointing draw at Newcastle on Monday, Rangnick made six changes to his line-up and shifted from his preferred 4-2-2-2 to a 4-2-3-1 formation. The move was rewarded within eight minutes, when Scott McTominay fired in from the edge of the box.

A rejuvenated United played with a lot more fluency and looked like they’d run away with it when Ben Mee deflected in Jadon Sancho’s shot (27) and Cristiano Ronaldo tapped in (35) after McTominay’s strike had been pushed onto the bar.

Burnley had caused problems at the other end, though, and Aaron Lennon’s quick response (38) was a sharp reminder of United’s defensive vulnerabilities.

However, a quieter second half was ultimately a comfortable one for United, with the impressive Wayne Hennessey preventing McTominay from adding to the scoreline.

Man Utd made six changes from the draw at Newcastle. Raphael Varane, Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles, Fred, Marcus Rashford dropped to the bench, and Bruno Fernandes was suspended. In came Eric Bailly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic, Jadon Sancho and Edinson Cavani

Burnley made two changes, with Wayne Hennessey replacing Nick Pope in goal, while Aaron Lennon came into the attack in place of Jay Rodriguez.

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United will finish the year four points off fourth-placed Arsenal with a game in hand. Meanwhile, Burnley – who hadn’t played in 18 days – remain in the relegation zone, two points from safety but having played a game fewer than Watford.