Burnley vs. Manchester United: Final score 0-0, United held by intrepid Burnley

Ángel di María’s arrival was not enough to arrest Manchester United’s tailspin as Louis van Gaal’s side was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at Burnley. Turf Moor has never been an easy place to travel for Premier League side, but with the Clarets sitting on zero points after their first two matches, United would have been hoping for a win which never even looked like arriving.

Burnley began on the front foot, and managed to rattle the woodwork within two minutes of kickoff. Lukas Jutkiewicz beat Phil Jones in the air, winning a free kick just outside the box. David Jones curled the resulting shot smartly over the wall, leaving David de Gea both helpless and thoroughly relieved when the ball cannoned back off his crossbar.

The goalkeeper was somewhat more involved mere seconds later, when Jonny Evans sold him short with a horrific backpass that allowed Jutkiewicz to sneak in behind the defence. But here de Gea was in his element, stepping forward to block off the shooting lane and preventing the hosts from taking a lead.

United weren’t going to play all match on the back foot, and they slowly emerged from their shell midway through the half. But their best chances were hardly the result of intricate attacking play -- new signing Ángel di María threaded a great through ball from deep for Robin van Persie only for the striker to see his thumping shot turned past the post by Tom Heaton, and di María was once again involved when he crossed for Juan Mata in space. Who immediately fell over the ball.

The van Persie shot was United’s only serious effort of the half, although they had half a shout for a penalty when Ashley Young was sent flying across the area by what seemed like an innocuous shoulder to shoulder challenge. Meanwhile, Burnley were still putting substantial pressure on the visitors and could well have scored through Scott Arfield, who nutmegged the unfortunate Tyler Blackett on his way into the box but saw his shot deflected behind for a corner.

United still found scoring opportunities difficult to come by in the second half, more or less relying on Burnley’s defence to implode to look even vaguely threatening. And when it did implode, the visitors found a way to waste their chances anyway. Di María, who’d taken a hefty knock in the ankle while navigating a Jones tackle, was taken off for Anderson a little way after the hour mark, a substitution which did little to bolster their creativity.

Meanwhile, there were still problems at the back, with Evans in particular turning defending into a comedic art with a series of miscues that Burnley failed to punish. United were very nearly bailed out in the dying seconds when Young’s shot struck Ashley Barnes’s hand after a series of corners, but Chris Foy was having none of it, dismissing the visitors’ very reasonable appeals for a penalty.

United spent the last few minutes on the front foot, but although they caused Burnley a few problems in injury time, after Foy’s missed call, the result was never in any doubt..