From midweek to the weekend, there was not much good news about the return of the injured Manchester United, so the only thing to watch out for in the pre-match press conference was Ten Hag's choice to support the much-criticized Marcus Rashford.
In a way, this is the only option.
Ten Hag, who is at the heart of United's team-building strategy, could easily make the decision to break with others, but he can't let Rashford go away because of his performances this season, and the reason is very simple, Rashford signed a contract with Manchester United last year until 2028, but Ten Hag's own contract with Manchester United expires next summer.
If he still wants his job, he is destined to not be able to kick Rashford, but at this point when it comes to Ten Hag's third year, Rashford can't help him.
As a result, United put in the same starting line-up as they did against Sheffield United, and the game was just as thrilling as midweek.
Just 20 seconds into the game, Burnley's twin strikers combined in front of United's centre-backs to strike their first shot of the game:
And in the fifth minute, United's central midfield showed it would be difficult for them to cope with Burnley's combination of wings and centres:
In two defensive shots, the problem of the central defender's line being shrunk and the midfield line being soft has been exposed continuously, the former is a problem this season, while the latter is a new problem after Eriksen's start.
The problem is obvious, but it's a remnant of United with injuries in place, so what can you do about it?
In a way, the only solution is to go forward.
Playing at home, after Burnley stole a start, Manchester United is bound to have the opportunity to play some attack in the frontcourt, whether it is through tackles or through lateral movements, there is still a chance to play content:
And in the midst of this, Eriksen's passing played its own character:
Last season, Eriksen was an integral part of United's midfield, and his injury at the beginning of 2023 made many fans sweat for the Reds, but this season, and especially this game, his playing environment has been very different.
Last season, Eriksen flanked Casemiro with Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane behind him, while this game flanked Maynou and followed by Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire and Casemiro.
So it's entirely predictable that the Reds' defence will come under heavy pressure as the physical energy needed to produce this wave of attack is gradually exhausted, especially in the core areas guarded by Eriksen and his team-mates.
Kompany's Burnley, limited by the resources at hand, have an empty pass in the Premier League at this stage, without the efficiency that has developed from it.
Although Kompany has also made a lot of adaptations and changes to the team in the Premier League, it still can't prevent the team from falling into the quagmire of a relegation battle at this time. Burnley may be at a loss against other opponents, but they can play well against Manchester United, especially at home.
Because Burnley's goalkeeper will also come forward sharply, Manchester United has no advantage in the high-level pressing link, plus the high-level pressing link needs three-line coordination, but with Eriksen, a veteran, Maynu, who has not yet practiced defensive awareness, and Maguire, who will look very cramped in a large space, can Manchester United's three-line coordination do well?
The answer is clearly no.
So in the 25th minute, Burnley advanced forward after finishing defending in the box. When the ball was lost, Menou and Eriksen on the line were already difficult to defend:
Diogo Dalot then pressed forward to try to help Bruno Fernandes, but behind him, Maguire couldn't hold back:
So, the whole process becomes like this:
From this advance, Manchester United and Burnley became a five-to-five on the field, Manchester United played a good ball in the first half of the first half, and the second half belonged to Burnley.
When the ball is at Burnley's feet, Burnley will take full advantage of the goalkeeper's forward advantage, hooking United's central midfield forward to press, so as to pull the gap between the three lines, so as to develop the attack through the combination of wings and centres to the core area:
In this process, do you think Eriksen and Menou can catch up?
Even when the ball is not at United's feet, Burnley can take advantage of the large amount of space in the vertical and horizontal areas of the United to develop a dangerous attack:
How huge these spaces are, just look at the way the Burnley players play through local crosses, everyone is over 180cm, but everyone is as flexible as Bernardo Silva:
Burnley may not have faced such a low-intensity defence in the Championship, with a soft midfield and a shrunken defender, and Burnley played with great ease from creating space to exploiting space.
Once these attacks have been developed, Burnley can continue their attack from set-pieces and continue to create attacking pressure:
Defensively this is already the case, and what makes United even worse is that they don't fight back.
As we said in midweek, Garnacho worked very hard but still left a lot to be desired. As the team's only bright spot up front, and the star of United's main attack over the past few years, Garnacho's lack of efficiency has only exacerbated the already unbearable burden on the midfielders:
So it's not surprising that it's like this, and it can't be changed.
Coming back in the second half, Garnacho and Antony played some attacking action after a physical build-up:
But the problems on the defensive end are unlikely to get any better:
So unlike the good ball in the first half where the two teams played for a period of time, the two teams in the second half turned into stabbing each other, and I hit you behind in various ways:
You hit me in front of me in various ways:
Everyone continues to consume in this mutual stabbing game, and in the end, the competition is who does not make mistakes, or who makes fewer mistakes.
So in the 79th minute, Burnley made a mistake first, and Anthony seized the opportunity:
But five minutes later, Casemiro made a mistake in clearing and Onana converted a penalty, which Burnley also took advantage of:
This is the end of the game.
In this game alone, you can find many sinners in Manchester United, Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Maguire, Maynu, Eriksen, Garnacho, Hjlen, etc., etc., but some of these players are not in good shape, some are incompetent, some are still immature, who are you to blame?
That includes Ten Hag, of course. You can criticize him for being unrealistic, saying that it would be nice for him to press the opponent and put himself into attack with such a group of backfield players, and play an honest defensive counterattack, but if you face Burnley in the relegation zone at home, you have to give up the ball, give up the field, and try to steal a three points at home like a chicken.
Without waiting for the post-match media, the Old Trafford stadium can eat such a Manchester United alive.
So in the current environment, you can't find any suitable scapegoats.
A good example of this is that after two consecutive defeats at the start of last season, Ten Hag allowed De Gea to open the game and leave behind his obsession with short balls from the back, which is clearly a departure from his tactical philosophy and adaptation to the current situation at Manchester United.
But at that time, what was Ten Hag's situation? In the first year of his contract, he could buy whoever he said, and in the last few days of the transfer window, he could spend 150 million to strengthen the team, but now?
The new owners and management have never made it clear that they are in favour of Ten Hag's contract completion, and have always taken a wait-and-see attitude, both to see how Ten Hag's United would turn out in those games and to see what coaches will be available this summer.
Of course, you could also think that this is the result of the new management not yet fully in place to fully assess Ten Hag, but what does that look like in the dressing room?
To put it bluntly, there will be a coach for Manchester United next season, but Ten Hag may not have a job next season, so why should Ten Hag, as the underdog, suffer and be wronged for Manchester United?
You can laugh at Ten Hag's efforts to silence the media when the British media hype up that Ten Hag will be sacked this summer, but isn't the club's silence fueling the fermentation of negative public opinion?
So, Ten Hag could have deviated from his tactical philosophy for Manchester United last year, so why bother now? Of course it's good to win, and it's over if you lose and put the blame on someone else.
Coaches are human beings, and since the club can't guarantee it, how can Ten Hag care about his future floods?