Wasteful Man United slip out of top four after draw at Burnley

BURNLEY, England : Manchester United dropped out of the Premier League's top four after they were held to a 1-1 draw at bottom side Burnley on Tuesday.

United dominated right from the off and had an early effort ruled out by VAR for offside before Paul Pogba, on his first league start since mid-October, hammered home his first goal of the season to give the visitors a deserved lead.

United should have added to their advantage before the break but Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope kept them at bay with several fine saves, while the hosts did not have a single effort at goal in the opening period.

United were made to pay for their profligacy as, out of nowhere, Burnley levelled through Jay Rodriguez two minutes into the second half from their first meaningful attack of the game.

The visitors lost all of their first-half rhythm after that setback and could not find a winner despite plenty of late pressure, as they dropped to fifth in the standings on 39 points from 23 games, one behind West Ham United in fourth.

With Newcastle United beating Everton on Tuesday, Burnley fell even further behind in the race to beat the drop and now trail Eddie Howe's side in 17th by four points, having played two games fewer.

(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Toby Davis)