Man Utd’s Burnley nightmare and how Fernandes silenced Solskjaer’s sack fears
Manchester United face off against Burnley on Sunday afternoon in an attempt to tighten their grip on second place in the Premier League table.
The Red Devils go into the match knowing they could go 10 points clear of third-placed Leicester City, with just six games to play after Sunday's encounter.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has United playing their best football at the moment, having seen them go through to the semi-finals of the Europa League earlier in the week.
Just over a year ago, however, the Norwegian boss was on the brink after a dire performance against Sunday's opponents.
United lost 2-0 at home against Burnley in January 2020 to leave them fifth in the table. Despite it seeming at the time that Solskjaer's future was in peril, the former striker has turned things around in the last 14 months.
Mirror Football has taken a look back at that dire night at Old Trafford and what's happened since that game…
The game itself
United were dismal on that fateful Wednesday night, as they succumbed to goals either side of half time from Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez.
The defeat meant Solskjaer had lost more games [12] than he had won since becoming permanent manager.
The hosts had the majority of possession, but wasted a number of chances while being sloppy at the back.
United supporters jeered the players off the pitch afterwards, and it seemed the writing was on the wall for club icon Solskjaer.
What did Solskjaer say?
The United boss didn't hold back in his post-match interview, saying he was well aware the performance wasn't up to the required standard.
"We hold our hands up, it is not good enough," he said.
"The players are giving everything, they have done absolutely fantastic so far this season but they know it wasn't good enough tonight.
"The boys they looked mentally tired towards the end, we didn't find that creativity. We can't feel sorry for ourselves.
"When you are at Man Utd you are privileged because you are playing for the best club in the world. Sometimes you go through periods like this and it is a test I am sure they are going to come through."
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Solskjaer sack speculation
The defeat left Solskjaer facing an extremely uncertain future at Old Trafford, with reports suggesting club officials were losing their patience with the boss.
With United 30 points behind arch-rivals Liverpool at the time, Martin Keown was one of the many pundits to predict the Norwegian would lose his job.
"I don’t think he’s going to last beyond the end of the season," he said on Premier League Productions. "I know people are saying he needs more time but this is Manchester United, it’s a massive football club."
It was widely speculated at the time that Ed Woodward would part ways with the club icon at the end of the season if things continued as they were.
Numerous names were linked with the role prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted the season entirely and allowed them time to regroup and save their campaign.
What happened next?
Just five days after that game, in which Solskjaer started Andreas Pereira at number ten, United forked out £46.6million on Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese playmaker made an immediate impact, winning the club's Player of the Year award despite only playing half the campaign.
Fernandes scored 12 times in 21 games, as well as providing eight assists.
His arrival breathed new life into the United side, and helped carry them into the top four with a third-place finish – as well as the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.
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