Manchester United supporters used to call Sir Alex Ferguson's selection method The Tombola and some of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's seemed to have been picked out at random against Burnley.

Ferguson, seen chuckling in the stands, used to remark United never made it easy for themselves and this was a return of the classic United onslaught. The winning bubble has burst, if not the unbeaten one.

For the second successive game, Solskjaer made five changes and there is only so long such tinkering can be justified, particularly when one of the recalled players is starting in the Premier League for the first time in 163 days. For the second time this term, Andreas Pereira buckled amid the intensity and Burnley seized upon it.

United were 2-0 down with nine minutes remaining but that disadvantage is a mere challenge to a man as renowned for revivals as Solskjaer. Victor Lindelof's first United goal salvaged a point in Fergie time to prevent a first defeat of the calendar year but questions have to be asked about the interim manager's decision-making.


It was the Brazilian Pereira who was robbed by Jack Cork 30 yards from goal in the counter that Ashley Barnes walloped in on 51 minutes. Pereira was making his first league start since he was hooked at half-time in the Brighton debacle on August 19, a first-half where United shipped three goals. One-hundred-and-sixty-three days later, he showed just why Jose Mourinho distrusted him.

Ferguson was prone to picking unfathomable teams and then coasting to victories but Solskjaer's luck ran out on a night where he was guilty of underestimating a nascent and organised Burnley. Solskjaer's impeccable memory would have informed him United had never done the double over Burnley in the Premier League era and they trailed 2-0 to the Clarets on Boxing Day last season. Anthony Martial was injured but that did not excuse the exclusion of Jesse Lingard or the diplomacy of Solskjaer's recalls.

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United's refusal to reinforce the defence in January was also patent as Chris Wood was left unattended for Ashley Westwood's 81st minute cross. Conceding from aerial deliveries has been a theme of both United managers' tenures this term and it will continue to be for the remainder of Solskjaer's caretaker post. Eric Bailly was absent.

What a difference Lingard made. He was introduced at the pause against Burnley last season and scored twice to salvage a 2-2 draw from 2-0 down. This time, he earned the penalty that Paul Pogba converted to spark the comeback that was enough for 'Glory glory Man United' to ring around the ground at full-time.

Pereira was removed in the 62nd minute. Solskjaer clasped his hand and ruffled his hair. That visible avuncular streak will be appreciated by Pereira. It cannot hide the reality that Pereira, 23, symbolised the complacency of Solskjaer's picks. How ironic Solskjaer rhapsodised about Pereira's training performances on Monday.


That Pereira and Romelu Lukaku were encouragingly applauded upon their removals was a reflection of the unity among the United supporters, exasperated more by Tom Heaton's brazen time-wasting and official Jon Moss' refusal to punish him for it. Mutiny is inconceivable with 'Ole at the wheel', even on an evening so frustrating that Juan Mata was cautioned for dissent.

In-form players were demoted or repositioned and it was not a coincidence that United's second goalless first-half on Solskjaer's watch was recorded with Lingard on the bench and Marcus Rashford, the fluid figurehead United had lacked until Mourinho was jettisoned, moved to the left. Rashford, the striker with five goals in his previous six league starts, became mired in regression.

Pogba made it 2-1
Pogba made it 2-1

Solskjaer's tinkering could not legislate for the kind of finish Rashford used to be synonymous with. He started and should have ended a 10th-minute move, via some perceptive play by Lukaku, but prodded a routine one-on-one well wide. Rashford was admittedly hampered by a dubious set-up deprived of the indispensable Lingard.

Phil Jones had to intervene to prevent Ashley Barnes from having a one-on-one from Victor Lindelof's ricochet and Burnley's aggression earned three successive corners. "Is this the Etihad?" Burnley fans heckled. Their analysts were just as bullish. "They're miles off," one observed of United as the 30-minute mark loomed. Pogba was as he botched a counter where, like Rashford, he was guilty of vacillating.

Solskjaer oversaw a comeback from 2-0 down
Solskjaer oversaw a comeback from 2-0 down

Solskjaer became increasingly vexed, especially with Rashford, who was advised to dart infield. The United manager's steely side was patent as he ascended the dugout steps and mouthed misgivings to the goalkeeping coach Emilio Alvarez. United's form can be gauged by how often Solskjaer is sat down and he was a frequent inhabitant of the technical area during a rare barren first-half at Old Trafford. The rattiness was shared by Jones, who rollocked Luke Shaw for straying. Ashley Young's speculative late drive caused Mike Phelan to cover his eyes with his hands.

Lingard and Ander Herrera warmed up upon the restart and United probed immediately. Tom Heaton thwarted Mata and Pogba within five minutes. Then Pereira dawdled. United struggled to breach Burnley and Wood appeared to have inflicted the clincher nine minutes from time.

But the industrious Lingard was felled by Jeff Hendrick in the 87nd minute. Pogba calmly struck and United sensed a second. Substitute Alexis Sanchez's header was parried and Lindelof rebounded to cause the WiFi to collapse.