After losing two of the opening three games, the pressure was on Manchester United to get a result against Burnley. They started the game in complete control, creating several chances and should have done better with them, repeating the pattern from the Tottenham Hotspur defeat.
However, it didn't take them long to make the most of their dominance when Alexis Sanchez played in a perfect ball to Romelu Lukaku to head United 1-0 ahead. Just before half-time, with Burnley looking sluggish, the Belgian pounced on a loose ball in the box to double the lead.
The game wasn't without controversy though. Marcus Rashford was sent off 10 minutes after coming on for going head to head with former fellow United graduate Phil Bardsley. Lukaku was also denied a penalty when Ben Mee had his arms around him when he was through on goal. Minutes later, Mee denied Lukaku a clear goalscoring opportunity when diving on the ball and using his hands, but no even a free kick was given, with Jon Moss bottling it.
Still, United were the best team, even with 10 men, and were well deserving of the three points.
Positives
After being so wasteful with opportunities to score, it was great to see Lukaku react first in the box and score a couple of goals. He will need that for his confidence.
Luke Shaw was again impressive, showing that maybe this is the season he will become the player fans have hoped he would be when signing four years ago. Defensively he was sound and he provided United with a great option going forward.
While most United fans won't be keen on banners on planes, an important message was sent to Ed Woodward today. The supporters sang Jose Mourinho's name on repeat after the message on the plane labelled Ed, to quote the manager, a "specialist in failure".
Negatives
Paul Pogba has faced plenty of scrutiny in the first few games and had another opportunity to get people off his back. He put in a decent enough performance but his penalty was awful.
Rashford will miss three games for reacting to Bardsley's snide behaviour. Mourinho called him "naive" after the game, which is probably an accurate summing up.
Manager rating out of 10
7 -- Mourinho picked the right team and set them up to play well. Rather than the conservative tactics we saw away to Brighton, United went out on the attack from kick-off and the manager deserves credit for that.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK David De Gea, 7 -- Had nothing to do in the first half. His first save came with less than 10 minutes to play, which was an important one with United down to 10 men. He made an even better save from Ben Vokes in injury time.
DF Antonio Valencia, 6 -- Played a great early ball in to the box which resulted in a scrambled save from Joe Hart. Got up the right flank well but was less effective in the second half.
DF Victor Lindelof, 6 -- Having suffered a nightmare start to the season, the Swede put in a decent performance. He made several important clearances.
DF Chris Smalling, 6 -- Largely solid at the back, even if he did have to resort to shirt pulling on more than one occasion to get an advantage over Chris Wood.
DF Luke Shaw, 7 -- Another positive performance for the left-back. Created an early opportunity for himself but his attempt went straight to Hart. Played a role in the lead up to Lukaku's goal. Had a few more chances but didn't cause any real problems for the goalkeeper.
MF Marouane Fellaini, 6 -- Made a few important defensive headers in the box and put in a disciplined performance. He did his job well.
MF Nemanja Matic, 6 -- Looked off the pace at times and struggled playing further up the field. That being said, he largely kept possession well enough and recovered the ball well for his team.
MF Paul Pogba, 6 -- Took a poor penalty which was easy for Hart to save. Ran the ball out of play when Sanchez played him through on the break but was hard-working and made himself available for the pass. Subbed off in injury time.
FW Jesse Lingard, 6 -- Had a whole host of early misses. Came close to curling an effort into the bottom corner early on, before a poor finish saw his attempt sail over the bar. Still, he made up for this somewhat with lovely feet on the edge of the box to get his shot away, with the rebound falling to Lukaku to score United's second.
FW Alexis Sanchez, 6 -- Played in an inch-perfect cross to Lukaku to set up United's opening goal. Picked up an early booking for his second foul on Phil Bardsley. Taken off after an hour.
FW Romelu Lukaku, 7 -- Got himself into a good position to head in the opening goal. Should have doubled United's lead not long after but Hart did well to block his chipped effort. Just before half-time, he put United 2-0 up from a few yards out. Should have claimed his hat trick in the last 10 minutes but tried to be too clever and was fouled.
Substitutes
FW Marcus Rashford, 5 -- Played in a great ball to Smalling at the back post. Won a penalty five minutes after coming on. But the game will be remembered for his silly red card.
MF Ander Herrera, N/R -- Replaced Lingard for the last 15 minutes. Had a late attempt on goal that went straight to the goalkeeper.
DF, Eric Bailly, N/R -- Replaced Pogba in injury time.