Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dream start to life as Manchester United caretaker manager was in severe danger of coming to an abrupt and unexpected end against Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.The Red Devils went into their Premier League clash as the firm favourites against Sean Dyche’s men but produced arguably their most disappointing performance of Solskjaer’s reign so far - until the final five minutes of the match, anyway.Ashley Barnes scored the first goal of the match five minutes after half-time, before Chris Wood doubled the visitors’ advantage with 10 minutes left on the clock.However, just when it looked like game over, United completed a remarkable comeback.Paul Pogba pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the closing stages of the match before Victor Lindelof equalised at the death with a close-range tap-in.Man Utd are famous for their dramatic late comebacks and this was certainly vintage Man Utd.Solskjaer made a couple of eyebrow-raising decisions with his team selection prior to kick-off, though.
Jesse Lingard, Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera were all named among the substitutes, while Anthony Martial was injured.Solskjaer handed Andreas Pereira his first start for United in 163 days - and his first start in the Premier League since August 19.However, it was the Belgium-born Brazil international who gave the ball away for Barnes’ goal.Even before that, many United fans on social media were unimpressed with his performance and made their feelings clear.But after that goal, it seemed every Red Devils supporter on Twitter was in agreement that Pereira looked out of his depth and simply isn’t of the standards expected of a United midfielder.Here is a selection of tweets from disgruntled United fans…
Meanwhile, the following damning statistic from his performance has emerged.
In fairness to Pereira, who turned 23 earlier this month, he has barely played for United this season.
Starting the midfielder against a well-organised Burnley side, without a run of regular minutes under his belt, was a risky decision by Solskjaer - one that ended up backfiring.
However, that late comeback may have been invaluable for Pereira.
Instead of going home irate and disappointed, the United fans left Old Trafford feeling jubilant.
Man Utd fans: is Andreas Pereira good enough for United? Have your say below.