Burnley draw showed just how important Ander Herrera is for Manchester United
By Ali Akbar
Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Burnley showed just how ineffective Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is without their best midfielder – Ander Herrera.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s winning streak as Manchester United caretaker manager came to an end when his side were held to a draw by Sean Dyche’s Burnley at Old Trafford.
Up until then, United had beaten Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Bournemouth, Newcastle United, Reading, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal.
PLAYER RATINGS. Scores as low as THREE and as high as EIGHT after Manchester United came back to make it 2-2 against Burnley at Old Trafford. light
Against the Clarets, the Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down with only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to go.
However, Paul Pogba scored from the penalty spot after Jesse Lingard was brought down in the box and Victor Lindelof equalised right at the end to prevent an embarrassing loss at home.
The performance was nowhere near as good as it had been in any of our previous eight games – but what caused this sudden change in form?
I have a pretty simple answer: the omission of Ander Herrera from the starting XI.
Indeed, I’ve argued in the past that Herrera has quietly been the best player at United under Solskjaer – and Tuesday’s result proved this.
Without the midfielder, Solskjaer’s side struggled to press Burnley, hold the ball up or even protect the backline from midfield.
Andreas Pereira did a terrible job covering for the Spaniard, receiving one of the lowest scores I’ve ever handed a United man in my player ratings.
If the 29-year-old had been playing instead, there is no way United would’ve been 2-0 down at home in the first place.
Although the fans have always rated Herrera, it’s time that the media also recognised his immense contribution to the side.
He may not get as many goals and assists as Pogba, but he is nevertheless equally as important and even more so when it comes to seeing out games and getting results.
Hopefully, Solskjaer has recognised this and continues to play Herrera from now on and maybe even hand him the captain’s armband – because he certainly deserves it.
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