Mourinho repeats his mistakes
The front six was the same as the profligate attack which started against Stoke and, yet again, United's finishing deserted them. Jesse Lingard, with the exception of an instinctive header, was anonymous on the right, increasing the workload for Matteo Darmian behind him, Juan Mata - United's best player again - was hooked and Zlatan Ibrahimovic cost United with some flimsy finishing.
Tom Heaton added gloss with that formidable second-half stop from Ibrahimovic but the Swede has become a liability in front of goal and - just like against Stoke - he squandered an early chance that would have given United a more comfortable afternoon.
Jose Mourinho perhaps tried to prove a point by retaining his favourites, even overlooking Michael Carrick and keeping Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the stands. As a result, United dropped more points and do not resemble a title-challenging side.
Strange substitutions
Ander Herrera's quizzical second yellow card might have had an impact on Mourinho's thinking. Sat in the directors' box, the perspective varies wildly from the touchline and the United manager's dismissal could have actually benefited his side.
Instead he presided over some baffling changes. Rooney was already warming up before Mark Clattenburg flourished red at Herrera and while he should have converted a late winner, Rooney's presence compromised United's fluidity. Marouane Fellaini's introduction seemed needless.
Memphis - also brought on against Stoke - even got an outing. Ashley Young would have been a more consistent option and the inexplicable decision to name three defensive-minded midfielders on the bench restricted Mourinho's options. Something he should have anticipated after watching United score once in their last three league fixtures before Burnley shut them out.
Lingard not justifying his place in the side
One United fan recently summed Lingard up best: "He is great at football when he hasn't got the ball." Lingard had plenty of it against Burnley and was anything but great. United's attacks regularly collapsed when Lingard received the ball and intuitive movement and instinctive finishing are not enough to earn a place in an attack at a club like United.
Having performed anonymously at Chelsea, Lingard was marginally better against Burnley. His inclusion ahead of Mkhitaryan - sat in the stands again - is as mystifying as the Armenian's continued absence from the squad.
Pogba proves his point
Most Read
In the first-half, Paul Pogba appeared borderline uninterested, ambling around the centre circle in a deep-lying role and at times not even trying to keep up with the pace of United's attacks.
After the pause, he performed like the midfielder United supporters hoped they had signed - on the left of the midfield. Pogba's whipped deliveries from that area were measured to perfection and his link up play down that side improved immensely.
Pogba's positioning should not be a problem when, just like with Angel di Maria, it is patent he should start on the left of a midfield three.
Clattenburg was spineless
It is a sad indictment of English football's refereeing standards that Clattenburg is considered the best official. That he had the best view out of 76,000 people inside the stadium when Herrera accidentally slipped into Dean Marney is immaterial, the cameras were focused on the Durham official and he made sure they fixed on him as he took his time before brandishing the red card.
United should have had a penalty in the first-half and goalkeeper Tom Heaton - who was time-wasting in the first period - was only carded in stoppage-time. It was more gutless refereeing after he bottled sending off Claudio Bravo at United a month ago.