Two goals from Romelu Lukaku brought Jose Mourinho a much-needed 2-0 win at Burnley on Sunday, although it was another eventful and controversial afternoon for his Manchester United side. England international Marcus Rashford, only on the field for 10 minutes as a substitute, was sent off after 70 minutes for a headbutt on Phil Bardsley who had clipped the United man's ankles in cynical fashion. Just two minutes earlier, Mourinho had also seen Paul Pogba miss a penalty with the chance to put the visitors out of sight.
But Lukaku's first-half double was enough for a well-earned three points as United bounced back from consecutive defeats to Brighton and Tottenham that had put Mourinho under the spotlight. Lukaku opened the scoring on 26 minutes, after a period of bright and direct football from Mourinho's team.
Alexis Sanchez was recalled to Mourinho's starting line-up and responded by setting up the opener as Lukaku rose impressively between two defenders to head the Chilean's cross past Joe Hart. A second goal before the break looked inevitable, although it took until the final minute for it to arrive as Luke Shaw chased onto Sanchez's back heel and into the Burnley area.
The ball eventually landed with Jesse Lingard on the edge of the area and, after his shot took deflections off both Charlie Taylor and Ashley Westwood, Lukaku was well positioned to turn and sweep in from six yards. It was a rewarding first period for Mourinho and his team, not to mention the 2,400 visiting supporters at Turf Moor who showed their backing for Mourinho.
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