Premier League 2018/19: What we learnt from Manchester United's win against Burnley

A much-needed win for Manchester United following a week full of media pressure and an air of uncertainty around Mourinho's job after rumours that a loss against the Clarets would lead to his sacking.

In the end, it turned out to be a relatively easy away game for the Red Devils despite Paul Pogba missing a penalty and Marcus Rashford losing his head after an off the ball clash with former United player Phil Bardsley.

Here are a few observations from the game.

The Plane Banner

An unwanted sight in the build-up to the game.

We start with something which was impossible to miss and to some effect highlighted the feelings of some fans towards the executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward.

Woodward is being seen as the person responsible for a lacklustre transfer window having failed to improve in certain key areas.

Lovers of the game would agree that this was something that shouldn't have been a part of the game. Even if the sentiment has a reason, the decision of some fans to nominate themselves as representative of all fans on global television was not the smartest one.

A plan in place

Fellaini coming into the game made a big difference

One of the biggest criticism of Mourinho's United is the apparent lack of a plan in their play. Very often, it feels as if a group of players have been thrown on to the pitch without much instruction, often leading to an underwhelming outcome.

This time at Turf Moor though, there was a plan in place and it did work well. Marouane Fellaini was substituted in for the summer signing Fred, to add more steel to the United midfield. He formed a defensive midfield with Matic and brought extra height to the team which seemed to have defensive frailties of late.

This system might be an away day blueprint for United as it allowed the fullbacks to attack and Pogba to be more expressive without losing out in the defence department.

Success in Simplicity

Luke Shaw continued his flying start to the season at Turf Moor.

Doing the simple things right is often the key to a good performance by any team at any level of the game. United did so too and got the desired result.

After what seemed an age, the passing was crisp and quick, trying to move around the Burnley side who were coming in off the back of a Europa League playoff on Sunday.

In addition, both the fullbacks went forward well and gave width to an effective United side. Sanchez, Lingard, Shaw and Valencia attempted a lot of early crosses which proved to be effective and this was a key difference in playing style as lately, United tend to go too narrow making it easy for oppositions to keep them out.

Burnley Woes

A lot to think about for Dyche and his men

Europa League has returned to haunt yet another team who are not well equipped to handle the rigours of such a busy match schedule. The fixtures coming thick and fast has stretched the thin Burnley squad to its limits and the results have been dismal.

Having collected only a single point from 4 games, Sean Dyche and his men will be looking forward to getting back to last season's form especially after their Europa campaign came to an end after a draw against Olympiacos.

United need to build on this

The stars need to start being consistent before its too late.

Despite all the good work this weekend, it is necessary to keep in mind that it was only one result against an out of sorts Burnley. United now need to use this victory as a launching pad and get moving. United cannot afford to sleep on it because of the way their rivals have started, only a solid run of wins can get them back on track.

Next up is Watford after the international break, an extremely tough game after the Hornets beat Spurs recently and showing no signs of stopping. The only way to go is up for this United team and their fans if they concentrate on what happens on the pitch and leave the planes, banners and board issues out of the picture.