Manchester United duo proved critics wrong in Burnley win

It wasn't pretty, but Manchester United did enough in the end as they recorded their first away win of the new season with a 1-0 victory against Burnley on Saturday night.

Bruno Fernandes netted the only goal with a fabulous strike, and Jonny Evans produced a defensive masterclass as a makeshift United side secured a valuable three points and kept a clean sheet for only the second time this season.

Erik ten Hag will be hoping for further improvement from his side in the weeks ahead but there were certainly positives to take. Here are a look at some of the main talking points from the win.

Player ratings: Evans and Fernandes good vs Burnley

Match reaction: Evans has an impact on United beyond his assist at Burnley

Evans almighty

It felt like another defeat was inevitable with the team news dropped at Turf Moor on Saturday night. Manchester United made three changes for the trip to Burnley, with Jonny Evans one of those coming into the side.

He was only billed as emergency cover, but just seven matches into the new season, United were already relying on the 35-year-old to start a match in the Premier League.

Evans wasn't there to make up the numbers, though, and led by example with a fantastic individual display that saw him shine both at the back and further up the pitch.

A VAR call denied him a memorable goal, but there was no taking away his world-class pass to set up Bruno Fernandes for the opening goal of the match. Then, in the last moments, he led by example with his sheer defensive prowess, clearing everything that came his way and digging deep to get his team over the line.

It was the ideal response from Evans after his horror show against Arsenal, and this was evidence of why he might have even overtaken