Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Manchester United delivered an emphatic response to anyone who questioned their battling qualities after a stirring fightback against Burnley.
Solskjaer had overseen eight consecutive victories since taking interim charge last month although the honeymoon period looked to be coming to an end when Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood gave the Clarets a shock 2-0 lead.
It was the first time United had trailed under Solskjaer but Paul Pogba netted from the penalty spot with three minutes to go before Victor Lindelof struck in stoppage time, meaning they remain unbeaten under the Norwegian.
Solskjaer was slightly frustrated his troops could not find a winner at the death but said: “The way they came back was fantastic, so of course you’re happy with the point.
“Then again we could have got three. We just ran out of time towards the end and we started too late with the urgency that we needed, that’s a learning curve.
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“But now you’ve got your answer: can they come back if they go one or two down? I’m very happy with the response.”
United lacked the usual sparkle that has been a hallmark of the Solskjaer era so far, which was not lost on the former United striker, who made five changes to the team that overcame Arsenal in the FA Cup last Friday.
Solskjaer suggested their red-hot form under his stewardship might have contributed to a lacklustre first half, in which they dominated possession but failed to create many clear cut openings.
He added: “The danger of winning might be that you think that what we’ve done before helps or gives us the right to start off on 90 per cent because we’re winning one or two nil.
“But you have to start properly in each game and today we didn’t start off well enough to cause Burnley enough problems.
“We know they’re well organised, we know they’re happy if we keep crossing the ball so we needed more tempo and more urgency in the play and play our way into the box more.
“In the second half at times I thought we did fantastic in that respect but Tom (Heaton) is a good keeper and they headed the ball away when they crossed it but they found a way in the end.”
United’s evening ended on a possible sour note as midfielder Pogba was seen limping through the mixed zone after appearing to take a knock.
Provided by Press Association Sport
